Silver Light
by SolanaLeonhart
Summary: This is a re-write of my old fic which had the same name. Things have changed, new ideas, new decks...It starts when Jaden and Kelly (OC) find a boy washed up on the beach...
1. Arrival

Silver Light

_Hi!_

_This is something I just had to get out. Had to get the idea out of my head. I wasn't really satisfied with the way my old Yugioh fic went so I'll try this instead. I hope you read and review. _

_This is just a prologue but Chapter one will be coming soon._

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><p>It was the start of a new day at Duel Academy island. Nearly everyone was still asleep in their beds, a number would likely sleep in since it was Saturday. But this wasn't going to be just a usual week end. A reason for this being the person who arrived at the beach...<p>

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><p>He woke up, feeling like his body was made out of lead. Forcing his eyes to open, he found himself in water, specifically having washed up to a beach. Caramel colored hair hung around him as he tried to he stand. He took a moment to glance at his reflection in the water as he made his way to land. His vision was still blurry but he could at least make out some details.<p>

His hair framed his face, reaching the start of his shoulders and curious but tired amethyst purple eyes looked around. He wore a white hoodie with a dark green shirt underneath it and blue pants with white shoes. He was surprisingly pale, and from the pain he was feeling, the boy guessed that he was injured. For some reason, he kept drawing up a blank when he tried to remember just why he ended up like this...

It looked like he washed up to a cliff...but where was this? His hand suddenly caught something, attracting his attention to the blue card protector in his hand. Carefully opening it, he found that the deck inside was surprisingly dry. It seemed the protector was shut tightly enough to keep any water out and it was water proof. Moving his hand, the boy felt like he was holding on to this tightly.

How did he come to be here? He fell on his knees, any attempts to stand hurt very badly.

Wait...there was a storm...and a dark boat...

Fatigue overwhelmed him before he could get to finish and before he quite knew it, he fell on the ground. He thought he could hear someone call out but it might have been his imagination...soon he could feel no more.

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><p><em>Well, how about that? A cliffhanger from the start...guess it isn't a big deal because I'll be explaining about my OC here next chapter. (Not everything, of course, where would the fun be if I gave up all the details at once?) I'm no good with writing suspense and mystery stories but I can do this much.<em>

_Read and review!_


	2. Rescue and Awakening

_Here's Chapter one. Oh, the beginning is actually a flashback. I might put those in every once in a while._

_Ooh, right before I forget again. I don't own Yu-gi-oh GX. Sure would be nice if I did..._

_Enjoy!_

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><p>"Ugh, this is the worst."<p>

"No kidding...it's cruel."

"Totally."

"This wouldn't have happened if you listened to me." A fourth voice added with a sigh.

Four teenagers, three boys and a girl were walking together in a forest, not too far away from a cliff. The four were students at duel academy, new slifers to be specific. As such their clothes had varying degrees of the color red. The boys wore red jackets, black shirts and grey pants with red shoes. The girl had a sleeveless red and white shirt with a black skirt and long red boots with white and red fingerless gloves.

"That stuff was too boring, Kelly." One of the boys responded. He had brown hair and honey colored eyes and currently, a flat expression. His name was Jaden Yuki.

"Did I say it was fun? No, it's necessary." The girl said sternly, she was Kelly Santana. She was pretty, with auburn hair that swept past her shoulders and gold tinted forest green eyes.

Their companions were a short boy wearing similar clothes as Jaden called Syrus Truesdale, he had messy blue hair and glasses. The last one was Chumley Huffington, their roommate. A heavy set boy who oddly resembled a koala.

Syrus tried not to point out that the teacher before them may as well have planned this to get Jaden. Why? Because he'd been horrible to the boy ever since he lost to him in the brunette's entrance exam. Kelly meant well though so he didn't want to say anything, the girl had been nothing if not helpful when they met her near the slifer dorm. She was the only girl there so she had her own room, which Syrus thought was lucky.

He still wasn't sure why Jaden and Kelly were slifers, anybody who saw Jaden's duel would agree. None of the boys had seen Kelly's test but he heard from Bastion that the girl was definitely one not to be underestimated.

As to why they're all here. Crowler had gotten fed up and decided to punish the three slifers for their little to no amount of homework by carrying things he wanted in the obelisk dorm early morning.

To her credit, Kelly was only mad because she tried to remind them to get to the homework time and again. Syrus guessed that she must have given up somewhere along the way, not that he could blame her. She was only accompanying them on her way back to their dorm.

"I'm glad one of you slifers has some sense." The blond man walking before them muttered. Vellian Crowler was a tall, flamboyant man, clad a long blue coat and dark pants and shirt as the proud headmaster of the Obelisk blue boys dorm. It wasn't like he wanted to be here either but he had to get his point across. How else would those thick slifers learn?

Kelly stopped walking, spotting movement on the beach. She could only see a dark figure slowly making its way up. "...Hey, guys, since when do people go to the beach this early?"

"What?" Jaden and Syrus followed her line of sight.

"Whaddya know..."

"That's weird. It's barely seven."

The figure then collapsed and the three let out an exclamation of surprise before Jaden and Kelly ran downhill to the beach, soon followed by Syrus.

"What are you doing?!" Crowler snapped, going after them.

"Hey, guys, do you have to run?!" Chumley cried, following suit.

When the two arrived, they were stunned to see Kelly and Jaden trying to help an unconscious boy with caramel hair but the boy didn't so much as twitch.

Jaden looked at them "Hey, little help? He's hurt bad!"

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><p>Kelly stopped remembering at this point. It was the evening of the same day. They immediately brought the boy over to the infirmary and the others had told Chancellor Sheppard everything.<p>

The new doctor hired to let Miss Fontaine focus on her other duties as the P.E teacher and the head of the Obelisk Girls dorm, Aaron Daniels, was young but very good at his work. He was surprised when they brought the boy but very ready to take him in. Kelly couldn't help but wonder though, what the heck happened to him?

A young man with sable brown hair and matching eyes came out of the room, looking relieved.

"By that look on your face, I'd say it's good news." Sheppard prompted.

Aaron smiled "Yeah, he's safe now." They released sighs of relief at the news.

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><p>"Talk about things talking a quick turn around..." A beautiful girl with dark blond hair and grayish brown eyes wearing the girl's version of the Obelisk blue outfit when Kelly finished telling her what happened. "I knew things wouldn't exactly be calm with the kidnapping fiasco from a few days ago but this...wow."<p>

"Yeah, I know," Kelly said. " I keep thinking it could have something to do with that...Which reminds me, I've been meaning to ask, did guys from the school actually go to face them?"

She nodded "I thought it was stupid too but yeah. Miss Fontaine thinks they were trying to play hero and I can't blame her."

"No joke, I get that they're trying to help but choking midway through something like that is dumb, and asking for trouble."

Rumors had gotten out about a group going after talented duelists. They had just evaded the police and were thought to sail near the island. No one knew that it was true until three obelisks and two ra students decided to see for themselves and gotten kidnapped in the process.

The whole group was stopped when an unknown duelist defeated their leader in a duel but no one was sure who the duelist was.

The girls agreed that it was a really dumb move on their part, but one of the Ras had admitted that most of them had pretty much chickened out in the midst of it. Unfortunately, that also made them easy pickings. The same Ra student admitted that he wanted to meet their savior, who would certainly be showered with gratitude from his family.

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><p>Amethyst eyes opened slowly and their owner sat up, finding himself in a moderate sized room with a table and a desk near the sole bed.<p>

_"Hey, pal, about time you woke up."_

The boy blinked and turned his head to see a man with black hair and grey eyes wearing a black and grey shirt with some gold linings, also pants and boots that matched the shirt. A sword was strapped to his side in its sheath. It took the boy a moment to realize something odd, he could see through the man. Like he was a ghost...

The duel spirit sighed _"So, you really don't remember, huh?" _He got a quizzical look back. _"Lovely...so how much do you know?"_

The boy frowned in concentration "I just...remember a storm...there was a dark boat...I think I was dueling someone there...?"

The spirit nodded _"So pretty much the latest stuff...how are you taking this so calmly?" _He asked, pointing at himself.

"Um, shouldn't I? I think I've seen something like this before...you're not a..."

_"Ghost? Heck, no. Some duel monster cards have spirits connected to them and there's a bunch of us in here." _The spirit paused. _"For starters, my name's Yuri."_

"I, um,...did you know me?"

_"Not as well as we would've liked, all things considered."_

"Now there's a surprise." Aaron's voice came from the door as the doctor made his way in the room. "Good to see you're awake, you were sure gave us a scare."

The boy gave him a curious look in response and Aaron continued. "I hear you don't remember anything?" A nod. "I can see your friend just fine," he said with a nod to Yuri. "Which is why I hoped to ask if he knew what happened to you."

_"Up to a point..."_

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><p>"Hmm, I had a feeling you'd say that." Aaron said when Yuri finished explaining.<p>

He learned quite a few things here. His patient's name was Alaric Vega. He had been attacked by the group that kidnapped duelists and was in fact, the one who stopped them. The deck had was one that group stole, the boy effortlessly took it back when he learned this. The group's leader had knocked Alaric out after the duel and destroyed his deck, then he tossed the boy into the ocean.

_"How exactly?" _Yuri asked with a raised eye.

"Well, my friend's a policewoman and she was actually working on stopping this group. Alaric here matches one of the descriptions of the victims perfectly." Aaron admitted. "I told her about him and she's pretty sure it's the same kid."

Alaric didn't say anything, mainly because he was running all the information in his head. So he had been unconscious for a week and had somehow gotten washed up to this Duel Academy...he still couldn't remember much of anything. That also made him awful because of what happened to his old deck, even if he couldn't remember a single card. Why couldn't he...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Aaron said. "Don't try to force the memories out, it'll tire you and possibly make sure they never come back."

"...I don't even know what to think. I really did those things you mentioned?" Both man and spirit nodded. "So..." He began to sway a bit and fell back, Aaron quickly caught him before he fell off the bed and settled him back on it. No surprise he was tired...

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><p>"So, it was you!"<p>

Alaric tilted his head slightly, not sure what to say to Jaden's excitement. "That's a pretty coooo...!" He didn't get to finish because Kelly had chosen that moment to pull him back by the ear.

"Okay, you can talk normally without freaking the poor guy out, right?" Alaric was a little glad someone understood how he felt. He didn't even remember his duel with the leading kidnapper in the first place...

The four slifers had decided to come and see Alaric after classes were finished the following day. They, like Aaron brushed off his thanks for helping him easily. Jaden didn't waste any time and asked him for a duel once he was feeling better.

"Sorry, don't mind him. Just mention a duel and he forgets everything else." Syrus shook his head.

"So that deck was stolen, right? What are you going to do if people find out?" asked Chumley.

It was Aaron who answered this "Oh, the only people who are going to do anything will be the ones asking for trouble. The Chancellor had a word with Maximilian Pegasus and he says he's more than willing to give Alaric the deck. Apparently, he thinks it's fitting with everything that happened. He did go an awful length to protect it."

"Cool," Kelly smiled, noticing Alaric's obvious relief at this. "Like Sy says, don't mind Jaden. He reacts like that all the time, like he did with me when he found out I made my own deck."

"You made your own deck?"

"Yup, my pride and joy," Kelly took out a couple of cards and showed him. One depicted a picture of a green eyed cobalt blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with a peach muzzle and a red and white sneakers. The other was of an anthropomorphic twin tailed golden fox with sky blue eyes and a white muzzle and red and white sneakers.

Alaric then noticed the two spirits of the cards at the door. The hedgehog saluted with a grin while the fox waved, smiling.

"Meet Sonic and Tails." Kelly introduced quietly so no one heard. "You like?"

The boy nodded with a little smile, making her grin. That was a first for him. Somehow the expression made him appear his age, and she had to admit if this was a small smile, she had to see the real deal.

"You mean the Pegasus is taking care of him?" Syrus blurted.

"Yeah, he didn't really give any details but from what I picked up it's until his parents get back." Aaron admitted.

Alaric flinched and looked down at this. He was already told that he had actually lost his memory on the day his parents disappeared. The incident somehow ended up in him getting kidnapped by that group, Alaric wasn't sure how but it seemed like he was nearly swept up in whatever happened. Pegasus was actually very nice to him, admitting that he was asked to look after him by his parents and he felt awful for what happened. The boy told him not to worry about it as there wasn't any need. It was then that the II president decided for him to enroll here. Apparently, he was already going to had it not been for that incident. So Alaric didn't mind.

He figured he'd just go along with things now and see how they play out. Hopefully, recovering from his amnesia in the process...

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><p><em>And that's all she wrote!<em>

_It may still be short but the rest won't be. Chapter 2 will be about Al's first day, but first, a duel! _

_Please read and review!_


	3. Welcome to Duel Academy- Part 1

Kelly nodded in approval "I wondered how you'd look in that but pretty good!"

Alaric tilted his head a bit, unsure of how to respond. Aaron had brought one of the Slifer outfits for him to try on since he would be joining the academy tomorrow. Kelly's reaction made him feel a bit better.

"So, you really tried to fix up the deck? I hear there's a lot of cards that go well with it in that box they found." She said as they started walking to the forest.

"Y-yeah," The police had delivered a package here the other day, stating that it was one of the things they took from the kidnappers. Since it was extra cards for Alaric's deck, Sheppard saw it fit to give it to the boy. "That guy...I think he just used the lower level cards as fodder for the stronger ones. I didn't like it so..."

"Hey, I don't like the sound of that either." Kelly said, trying to get him to relax. It was true. He was still somewhat shy around them all, but he was starting to trust them. "So, Pegasus...he's like...your godfather or something, right?"

He had said to think of him in such a manner so nodded. The girl tilted her head "You know, I thought he'd be coming to see you or something. You're okay with things now?"

"Yeah. I-it sounded like there was a lot going on over there." What with the wrapping up of the kidnappers group business which unfortunately was based in Domino City. Once that tidbit got out, the press got all over it. They seemed to think some companies were involved and Alaric already guessed Pegasus was making sure nothing happened with Industrial Illusions. The boy thought that was good of him, in a way he was defending all his employees too. "I don't want anyone to worry about me or anything...he's busy enough."

"After everything that happened, we'd be hard pressed not to." Kelly pointed out. "Come on, cut yourself a break already. You're shaping up pretty well, tough guy."

"You think so?"

"Sure! I'd be a wreck if I were you and look at you now. You're hanging tough and that's good. So you're going to duel Jaden now?"

"Well...he looked really excited to duel and I haven't tried the deck out yet. He says it'll be like a way to welcome me into the academy."

She sighed but smiled "I should have known. Well, this will be interesting."

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><p>Jaden strapped his duel disk and looked over at , who was doing the same with his own. "You all set there?" Alaric nodded. "Good, then let's our game on!"<p>

The duel was taking place in the field besides the Slifer dorm with Syrus, Chumley, Kelly , Professor Banner and Bastion observing from the sidelines.

"So, you said he's using a completely new deck?" The last inquired.

"Yup, the cards I saw looked like they were warrior types but I'm still not sure what deck he's running." Syrus answered. "Kelly, what are you doing there?"

The girl had her PDA aimed towards the duel site"The doc's too busy to come see the duel so I'll make a video. I've got a good feeling about this duel."

"I think we're in for a few surprises." Banner smiled.

Jaden: 4000

Alaric: 4000

"Since I'm the one who challenged you, you get to go first." Jaden offered.

"Thanks." Alaric drew his sixth card. "I'll set one monster and three cards facedown to end my turn."

"He's setting up something." Bastion commented.

"All righty, I draw!" Jaden paused. "Sweet, I'll summon up Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" A blue and gold armored warrior rose in front of him. (A: 1600, D: 1000)

Alaric blinked "So, that's an Elemental Hero..."

"Yup, what do you think?"

"Cool."

Jaden chuckled as Sparkman nodded at the compliment. "But you won't think so after this. Attack with Static Shockwave!"

The lightning blast destroyed the set monster, revealing it to be a small pink and purple plush doll before it vanished. Alaric then spoke "You just destroyed Teepo, so I get to summon a level 4 or lower monster from my deck. And I'll activate my trap, Shining Star." The card in the middle was lifted. It depicted a picture of a star in the sky, giving off silver and gold auras as it radiated light. "This lets me summon another monster with the same level."

"So, he gets two monsters for the price of one." Chumley said.

Kelly smiled "That's a good move."

"...So, now I'll summon up Nexus Paladins- Kor Meteor and Amber Hearts." Alaric placed two new cards on his duel disk. Kor was a teenage boy with brown hair and brown eyes wearing a black and red shirt with white linings with similar pants and blue shoes. A sword was strapped to his side. (A: 1700, D: 1700)

Amber was a teenage girl with black hair and violet eyes. She wore a white and purple shirt with white shorts and violet shoes. A staff was in her right hand. (A: 1700, D: 1700)

"Nexus Paladins?"

"So, those are the cards..."

"Hey, she's cute." Syrus said as he watched Amber, who giggled and waved.

Kor, on the other hand, was looking around the place before a grin settled on his face. _"Cool, I've been wondering when we'd get a chance to duel with you, Boss."_

_"Same here, let's make the first a good one." _Amber smiled.

Alaric smiled "That's the idea. Ah, you don't have to call me that by the way."

_"I know!" _The spirits of Alaric's deck had been pleased to come to know the boy, some of them were learning to get around the idea of having a new and better owner but they'd all agreed to give the boy a chance. Kor didn't see anything wrong there and he could tell was a good kid.

Amber agreed with the view, the boy was very nice to them after all. _"You guys can sort the details later, right Boss? There's still our effects."_

"Right, sorry. When Amber's on the field, Kor gains 300 attack points." The teen grinned as a golden aura surrounded him (A: 1700-2000) "When they're together, you can't attack me."

Jaden's eyes widened "Wait, what?"

The two paladins shared a smile before joining their weapons and forming a green shield around Alaric's side of the field.

"So he that's why he picked them out. It's part of a combo." Bastion observed.

"I can't believe it's his first time with that deck. That's very well done." Banner said.

"No kidding, Jaden needs to look out." Kelly added.

The E-Hero duelist grinned "Okay, then I'll just set two cards facedown and end my turn." A card appeared behind Sparkman.

Alaric drew once more "I'll play the spell known as Infinitia Soul." His field was then surrounded by a wave of silvery tinted purple energy that soon formed a star in front of him.

"Heh, so what's that do?"

"You'll find out. But for now, I'll summon up Nexus Paladin-Alvin." The new one turned out to be a young man with dark hair and brown wearing a navy blue business suit with black shoes, a red shirt and yellow tie. He had a gun in his right hand and a sword in his left one. (A: 1900, D: 1900)

Alvin grinned _"Hey, we haven't seen this in forever. I'm getting a good feeling about this duel..."_

"All right now, Kor, can you take care of Sparkman?" Alaric asked.

The teen grinned _"On it!" _He dispatched the hero of light with a couple of slashes.

Jaden: 3700

Alaric: 4000

"Hold on, before you do anything else I'll activate Negate attack to end the battle phase!" Jaden declared.

Alvin sighed _"Darn..."_

"Well, in that case, would you use your ability?" Alaric said.

Alvin raised an eye _"Well since you're the first to ask so nicely, how can I say no?" _He pointed his gun at Jaden's set card and fired, destroying it.

"Hey, what was that?" The brunet asked.

"Alvin can destroy any card on the field, provided that he doesn't attack." His opponent said as the aforementioned monster smirked. "Now I'll pass the turn to you."

Chumley sighed "That was too close."

"Yeah, if those attacks had gone through Jaden would've had a 100 lifepoints left." Syrus agreed.

"It could have been worse. If Alaric had any card that powered up his monsters then, he would've won." Banner pointed out. "I think Kelly has a point. You cannot underestimate that boy."

'Don't I know it.' Jaden thought to himself. He had to admit that his opponent was looking like a real strategist. "Now let's keep things going. I'll play the Warrior Returning Alive to get Sparkman back before activating Polymerization to fuse him with Elemental Hero Clayman in my hand to get Elemental Hero Thunder Giant." A white and gold armored hero with a core that gave off electricity in its chest arrived (A: 2400, D: 1200)

"But he won't be here alone. Meet Elemental Hero Heat!" A hero clad in an orange and white outfit appeared. (A: 1800, D: 1000) "And he gets 200 attack points for every Elemental Hero on the field." Heat was surrounded by a fiery aura. (A: 2000)

"Jaden's making a comeback!" Syrus cheered.

"You know it, Sy! Now let's start off with Thunder Giant's effect, he can destroy a monster with less original attack points than his so I'll pick Amber!"

"Now the lock's gone." Kelly said, wondering how Alaric would respond to this development.

"Now, Thunder Giant and Hero Heat, take out the rest of the paladins!" Jaden commanded and both heroes attacked with a lightning wave and a fiery fist to defeat Alvin and Kor. This caused a smokescreen around Alaric's field.

Jaden: 3700

Alaric: 3200

"Well, I'll just set..." Jaden blinked at the glow coming from Alaric's side through the smoke. Looking closely, he could see it was Infinita soul's veil shimmering. "What's going on?"

Everyone stared in shock when three new figures appeared before Alaric. The first was Yuri. The second was a young man with white and black hair with teal eyes wearing a blue shirt, yellow tie, black pants and matching shoes. The third was a teenage boy with fiery red hair and similar eyes wearing a blue green shirt with white cuffs, along with blue green shirts and blue shoes. Red and white tonfas appeared in his hand then.

"Infinitia soul's effect lets me summon a monster that is the same level as one destroyed on my field. Thing is, they lose all their defense points and they can't activate their effects until my coming turn is over. But it's a pretty good bonus." Alaric smiled. "So, let me introduce my three new friends. Yuri." The dark clad swordsman put his sheathed sword on his shoulder with a smirk. (A: 1900, D: 1900) "Ludger." The white haired young man smiled. (A: 1500, D: 1500) "And Mao." (A: 1600, D: 1600)

The redhead grinned as he turned to him _"Man, now I see why Kor likes you! This is definitely a turn around."_

_"A complete 180." _Ludger agreed.

"That was what I had in mind." Alaric smiled.

Kelly blinked at the sound of a whistle and saw Sonic watching the duel _"That's some move...I'm starting to see why you like the kid."  
><em>

"I thought you would."

Jaden may not have heard the hedgehog but if he had, he would not have agreed more. "Man, that deck of yours is full of surprises. I'll end my turn with this facedown."

"I don't know about you guys but I'm loving this duel," Kelly said, smiling.

"I think we all do. It's nice to see our little friend coming out of his shell." Banner added as Alaric drew.

"But his monsters are all weaker than Thunder Giant." Syrus pointed out.

"Judging by what we've seen so far, I'd say he has a plan." Bastion noted.

Alaric's next action proved his point. "I'll summon up Nexus Paladin-Estelle." A girl with pink hair and green eyes wearing a flower like white and gold dress with matching shoes and gloves appeared. She flexed her arm, making a sword and shield appear in her hands. (A: 1700, D: 1700)

_"Hey, Estelle, ready to join in the fun?" _Yuri asked.

She smiled _"Whenever you are."_

"In a second guys. I just need to give Ludger the Symphonian Blades." Alaric activated the equip spell, and a set of twin blades with gold and blue appeared in the man's hands. (A: 1500-2100)

"You know, I hate to break it to you but Ludger's still weaker than my monster." Jaden said.

"Oh, I know. I just need a little assistance. Estelle, if you don't mind?" Alaric said.

_"I certainly don't." _She raised the arm where her shield resided, and all the paladins were surrounded by a pink aura.

"Estelle powers up all my monsters by 400 attack points."

Mao (A: 1600-2000), Yuri (A: 1900-2300), Ludger (A: 2100-2500), Estelle (A: 1700-2100)

"Whoa!"

"That's some line up..." Kelly said, impressed.

_"Jaden's in trouble..." _ Sonic added.

"Now let's get this battle underway. Ludger?"

_"Leave it to me!" _He charged towards Thunder Giant.

"Hold on! I play De-fusion to separate Thunder Giant back into Clayman and Sparkman." Jaden said, revealing his facedown.

"All right then, we'll switch to Hero Heat!"

Jaden: 3600

Alaric: 3200

Mao took out the defending Sparkman with a fiery strike of his tonfas while Estelle defeated Clayman. Yuri then went to slash Jaden with his still sheathed sword.

Jaden: 1300

Alaric: 3200

"That's a big drop..." Syrus cringed.

"If it wasn't for that De-fusion, Alaric would've won." Chumley commented.

Mao was thinking along similar lines when he groaned _"Nuts!"_

"It's okay, we're doing pretty good here and it's way better than what I imagined." Alaric assured. "We're just trying to have fun now, all right?"

Estelle beamed _"Right!"_

_"Sounds like a plan to me." _Ludger responded while Mao grinned.

Yuri just chuckled, it looked like the boy was taking their advice well.

"Yeah, you guys are doing great!" Jaden said to his opponent. "You're really giving us a run for our money here. So, you meant that part about having fun? Because from where I'm standing it sounds pretty good."

"Yup!"

He laughed "Now we're talking the same language." Jaden took another card after confirming Alaric was done. "First, I'll play Pot of Greed and get two cards...Sweet! I'll play Double Summon before using Re-fusion..."

Jaden: 500

"I pay 800 lifepoints to get a fusion monster back from my graveyard..."

"Sorry, but no way! I play Mystical Space Typhoon."

Jaden's equip spell was blown away with the wind caused by the quick play spell, making the teen groan. "In that case, I'll go for Elemental Hero Stratos! And when he's summoned I get an Elemental Hero from my deck." He added a third card. "So now, by giving Stratos Grade Sword I can summon Elemental Hero Blade Edge! And I'll have him attack Mao!"

"I'll use Yuri's effect now! He can stop you from destroying Mao." Alaric countered and Yuri went to block Blade Edge's attack, a dark aura surrounded him as he pushed the Hero back.

Jaden: 500

Alaric: 2900

Jaden noted that the effect didn't shield him from the life point loss but decided not to comment on it "Well, in that case. I'll activate the quick play spell, Flash strike! Since Blade Edge's attack went through but he didn't destroy the target, he gets to attack once for every monster you have! Flash strike also negates Estelle's boost for this turn!"

Blade Edge flew up and charged towards the paladins. Alaric knew that if this worked, he'd lose. But he wasn't about to back down. "I'll activate the trap Chaos Barrier! This defends my monsters, but for exchange I'll take half of Blade Edge's attack points as damage!"

The golden armored hero ran into a violet barrier, which then surrounded Alaric as it sapped his points.

Jaden: 500

Alaric: 1600

"I didn't think he'd do that..." Bastion admitted.

"In a way, he didn't have any choice. But I think Alaric is just trying to test out the deck," Banner said.

Needless to say, the Nexus Paladins were surprised by this. While they were all for the new partnership, they didn't think Alaric would do such a thing.

Kelly, on the other hand, was thinking that Alaric really just wanted to befriend the paladins and knew that this move was a big step forward there. Besides, Blade Edge's attack would have cost him the duel but he clearly wasn't the type to go down with a fight.

"In that case, I'll try this. Go, Edge Hammer!" The trap card activated. "With this, I can sacrifice Blade Edge and damage your lifepoints for his attack points!"

"Hey, if this works..." Chumley began.

"He did it! He won." Syrus smiled.

_"Don't count us out just yet." _Mao said.

"What?" Jaden blinked.

"He means this. I play Mirror Move!" Alaric declared. "This quick play spell lets me fire an effect back at you, so I'll use Edge Hammer too!"

"No way!" But before the E-hero duelist knew what was going on, two golden blasts formed once Blade Edge vanished, striking him and Alaric at the same time.

Jaden: 0

Alaric: 0

Draw!

"Whoa..."

_"Didn't see this coming..."_ Sonic commented.

"That was awesome!" Jaden said as he sat up. He didn't seem fazed by the result at all, if anything he seemed happy.

Alaric switched his duel disk off "...I didn't expect this turn around but that was fun." He looked at the spirits of the 3 paladins beside him. "What do you guys think?"

_"Yeah, it's something to remember." _Ludger said.

_"And hopefully, the shape of things to come." _Estelle added.

_"Exactly, now we know you can stack up pretty well with us. You're a fighter, kiddo. And you better stay that way." _Yuri said with a smirk.

Alaric just beamed "Got it!"

* * *

><p>Aaron whistled as the video came to an end.<p>

"Impressive." Sheppard smiled.

"It certainly is." Pegasus chimed in. They were in the Chancellor's office, watching the duel with Pegasus who was already sent the video by doctor himself was watching it for the first time. "Now I know for sure, Alaric and that deck are a match made in heaven."

"Definitely," the chancellor agreed. "He's going to do very well here."

* * *

><p>"All right now, settle down." Crowler said the next morning to his class. "We have a transfer student joining us today. This is Alaric Vega."<p>

Aforementioned boy knew that this was where he'd have to say something to the class so he introduced himself and decided to add a few words. He never got to finish that because of an out cry by a boy in an obelisk blue outfit. "It's you!"

"?"

Crowler raised an eye "Do you two know each other?"

"Umm...I don't think so." Alaric said honestly, looking at the obelisk student. Suddenly, the boy beside the speaker grew an alarmed expression too.

"What's with them?" Jaden wondered. "Kelly?" He said, noticing the girl face palming.

Alexis felt like doing the same thing. Those boys must have been part in that kidnapping fiasco and they recognized Alaric. Still, did they have to say that out loud? The poor kid didn't need to be harassed about that.

Shrugging his confusion off, Alaric went to join his friends at the slifer table and Crowler got the lesson under way.

The NP duelist raised an eye at the odd sound coming from behind him and turned around to see Jaden and Syrus having fallen asleep. The sigh that followed this told him Kelly must have seen this too.

"Not again..." She muttered. "Help me wake them up, will you?"

* * *

><p><em>And that's it!<em>

_I'm just going to add the later part of the day in the next chapter but I hope you like this one. I also hope the duel was good. I kinda ended up making the details on the fly there. But I promise the next will we better._

_To clear up any confusion, Alaric's deck contains cards from the Tales series. (I love this games. Though I barely got to play any. They're absolutely brilliant.). I put in a bunch of characters there so far. So, I'd appreciate anyone telling me their opinion about this in general. You know if I got their character right and what not, I'm going by my experience from playing Tales of the world Radiant Mythology (which is what made me notice the series) and reading stuff up on Aselia.  
><em>

_Oh, yeah, since I'm probably going to forget to do this later...I don't own anything in this fic except my OCs and some of the plot. Yugioh GX belongs to their makers, same goes for the Tales series. I'm just a big fan._

_Solana Leonhart out!_


	4. Welcome to Duel Academy- Part 2

Alexis looked between Kelly and Jaden before her eyes landed on Alaric "They fell asleep again, didn't they?"

He nodded. "Does this happen a lot?"

"Let's just say Jaden can sleep as much as a sloth and don't even ask me why Syrus is on this now."

"I'm just taking a little break." Jaden said.

"This would be the part where you keep quiet, Jay." Syrus sighed.

Kelly frowned back "Well, what does it matter to me? Come on, Alaric, we've got Botany." The two left.

"You know, I can't say I blame her if she's mad. She's really trying to help." Alexis reminded the boys.

* * *

><p>"Um, are you okay?"<p>

Kelly sighed and looked back at Alaric. "Do you think I'm being a nag?"

He shook his head, looking confused. "You're trying to help out, right? You just sounded worried to me."

_"If you were trying to nag, we would've stopped you." _Tails piped up from her left. _"The guys are just being lazy." _

_"Ah, they'll just have to sort out their own mess. No use holding their hands." _Amber added, agreeing completely with the fox.

"Yeah, I guess so..." Kelly said.

"...Maybe you should just stop worrying about it." Alaric said. "I mean, for now. If you just take some time to calm down and think about it later, maybe it won't be so bad."

Amber smiled _"Yup, Boss is on to something here. Just take it easy and see how things play out." _

"You know what. I think I'll do that." Kelly took Alaric's hand and they took off towards the greenhouse with their friends watching in amusement.

* * *

><p>Professor Samantha Dean's smile widened as she looked around the number of students who had joined her in Botany class this year. They were actually more than last year and from the three dorms this time, that was encouraging.<p>

The greenhouse was mostly quiet as usual but she didn't mind the murmurs coming from here and there. At least the students were into it, she'd rather have a few who were interested than many who would just go about messing things up.

A spirit of a blue fairy with a yellow tipped head, red bow-tie and blue eyes flew around the greenhouse before returning to sit on Kelly's head, still looking curious.

Teepo flew up to her _"What? You've never seen a greenhouse before?"_ The fairy looked back at him and spoke in his language. _"Oh, yeah, it's a change..."_

"Hold on, Teepo, you actually get that?" Kelly asked

_"Sure, why?"_

"Well, me and Cream are the only ones who can get Cheese's...language, same for Chocola. It took me a while to figure it out too..."

The doll had a look of surprise before a prideful expression settled on his face. _"Hey,_ _it's easy! Just one of my talents!"_

"I'm sure..."

_"Really, just ask Elly!" _Teepo said, sounding insulted that she hadn't believed him. _"Oh, yeah, hey Alaric, you can tell her, right?" _But he didn't receive an answer. _"Alaric?"_

The boy sat on their right with a white watering can in one hand and a distant look on his face. He only reacted when Teepo got really close up to his face. "W-what?"

_"You're spacing out again."_

"Again? How many times did this happen?" Kelly asked.

_"I'm counting three today." _Teepo looked back at his new owner.

"Any chance you're willing to tell us what's going on?" Kelly asked, taking the words from Teepo's mouth.

Alaric looked down, honestly not knowing how to respond. He was confused himself. He was getting a strange feeling about this place but he just couldn't place it. What really confused him was why it kept nagging at him like this. It was strange but something he couldn't ignore...like it stirred something inside of him...

Alaric inwardly groaned...he was confusing himself...

* * *

><p>As they were entering the academy building, it came again. A gust of wind blew past them and Alaric suddenly had the thought to turn around in time to see a boy their age in a Ra yellow outfit dashing towards them, looking panicked himself. Alaric stepped back and caught the boy's collar as he passed them by, making him slow down.<p>

Kelly, Cheese and Teepo didn't know what to make of this scene either. Well, two didn't. Teepo broke the silence as he cried out _"That was great!"_

"No kidding," surprisingly it was the Ra boy who agreed. "You sure had some timing."

_"Yeah and...hey, wait a sec, what are you doing trying to bump into us anyway?!" _Teepo demanded, his face changing from happy to angry in a less than a second.

The boy leaned on the wall and took his shoes off, revealing they were made with skates inside them. "Ugh, I knew it..." He picked off a pebble from between the wheels. "I don't know where this got in...oh, yeah, sorry about that. I couldn't stop and it's a miracle I didn't crash by the stairs..."

"Well, no one's hurt so no big deal." Kelly smiled when Cheese added his consent, finally taking a moment to take a good look at the new arrival.

He had a bit of a tan with black hair, strands of which fell over his right eye which was a forest green color while his left one was a sky blue. He wore the standard Ra yellow outfit, his shoes only looked bulkier because of the skates.

"How'd you do that?" He asked, all eyes traveled to Alaric who blinked innocently back. Frankly he didn't have the slightest clue either.

"Um, maybe I got lucky?"

It sure didn't seem that way to Kelly and it looked like the Ra agreed but he decided to shrug it off. "Anyway, I'm Lysander, who're you guys?"

* * *

><p>After the introductions, it turned out that the three had the same class so they headed off together. Lysander turned out to be a really friendly and outgoing guy and they got along swimmingly.<p>

"So you guys are in that Botany class too? Cool, I'm signing up tomorrow...I just couldn't make up my mind on anything before." Lysander admitted. "Oh hey, so what was up with that guy from Obelisk calling you out like that?"

"Um..." Alaric may not have known why before but he had a pretty good idea now. Which is why he didn't know what to do...

_"You might as well tell him." _Teepo suggested helpfully. _"It can't hurt."_

"I guess..."

Lysander whistled after the story "Wow...just wow...and you're just going to attend like nothing happened?"

It was Teepo who answered _"That's the idea." _

"That's a pretty cool thing you did though." The Ra added thoughtfully. A humanoid tiger like creature wearing red armor appeared next to him. "Oh, hey, Laquari! You heard that?"

_"Every bit." _The spirit answered.

Teepo eyed him with interest as Cheese flew over _"Hey, I've never seen a spirit like you before."_

_"I could tell you two the same thing. I'm a Gladiator Beast." _

_"Gladiator? Well, that's cool and we're paladins. One of our kind! Right?" _Teepo asked Alaric, who laughed and answered. "Right."

* * *

><p>"Whoa!" Jaden yelped as a bang sound woke him up. He blinked confusedly and saw the cause in the front of the class. Professor Banner lay flat on his back, holding a flask in each hand, one of which was broken in half as he twitched.<p>

Lysander cringed sympathetically "That's gotta hurt..."

"Ouch...he made the whole thing sound simple too..." Kelly muttered.

Since the class was over, she and Alaric went to check up on him, followed closely by Jaden, Lysander and a girl with red hair and crystal blue eyes in an outfit that resembled the girl's version of the obelisk outfit but with the blue parts replaced by yellow ones.

"Er, you still alive in there, teach?" Lysander asked for all of them.

Banner coughed after nearly a minute "...Ah, thank you for your concern, my boy. I'm all right."

"You're sturdier than I thought, Professor." The red haired girl said. "...How many times has this happened?"

"You'd be surprised, Miss Orion." He answered, standing up. "Well, enough of that. Run along now, I'm sure you have a lot to do."

Jaden groaned, remembering the amount of homework they had "Don't remind me. Hey, Kelly, you think you can..." He blinked when the girl walked past him as if he hadn't spoken. "Now that's just cold."

He spotted Alexis at the door, giving him a pointed look that clearly said he had it coming.

* * *

><p>After catching up to her, Lysander took the opportunity to introduce Kelly and Alaric to the redheaded girl, Megara Orion, who was an old friend of his.<p>

"And you guys just met up here after 3 years of not seeing each other?" Kelly asked, curious. "That's a nice coincidence."

"I don't know about that...from my sister's tone I could swear they were setting us up..." Megara admitted.

"You know Phoebe's never going to admit it though, right?" Lysander asked.

"Unfortunately." She shook her head. "Nate still wrapping up all the homework?"

He snorted "You know it. He was asking for trouble."

"Did something happen to your friend?" asked Alaric.

"Ah, you heard about the kidnapping mess before, right? Nate was one of the idiots who wanted to play the hero." Lysander said dismissively, missing him and Kelly exchange startled looks. "I thought it's a cool thing to do but then Meg told me how fast they screwed up."

"I'm just glad you had the sense not to get in that mess. It's totally like you." The girl chipped in.

"You haven't seen me in years before here, remember?"

* * *

><p>Kelly gave Estelle a curious look "You really like to read, huh?"<p>

_"Sure, I just love the way books can take you to a completely different place," _She beamed, reading Alaric's book as she sat next to him. _"I have to say, this alchemy sounds awfully intricate though..."_

"Intricate isn't the word I'd use." Kelly sighed.

_"Sounds like a big pain to me." _Sonic chipped in from his perch on the tree above them.

"What he said." The girl said to Estelle.

The four sat underneath a big tree out their dorm, doing their homework. It was the beginning of the weekend but Kelly and Alaric agreed it was best to get the homework done with before anything.

_"You know, Ricky, I'm kinda surprised you're not with Jaden and those other guys now." _Sonic said, noting the boy giving him a look. _"What? Yuri's using it so I figure I can call you that."_

"Oh, I'm just getting used to it."The NP duelist admitted. "I just thought it was better to do it now bright and early when I've got someone with me. I figure the more I put it off, the less likely I'll do it later."

"You got that idea from Jay, didn't you?" Kelly smiled. "Can't blame you there though. It's pretty cool that you want to work hard, though."

"Well, I don't want to cause any trouble for the people helping me out." Alaric responded, giving her a grateful smile that made her beam back. "If my parents were really helping me get here then I want to make sure I don't waste their efforts."

"Good, you're on the right track. Best thing is, we're almost done!"

"It's very nice to see you two getting along so well."

The two almost jumped at the new voice and turned to see Bastion watching them with an amused smile.

"Jeez, don't do that!" Kelly snapped while Alaric sighed. The Ra smiled.

"Sorry, it was hard to resist."

"What're you doing here anyway?"

"Well, I was just taking a walk and ended up here but now I'm thinking of asking if either of you would duel me." The Ra admitted.

Alaric tilted his head "You want to duel one of us?"

"I thought we could do something to pass the time." Bastion replied. "Of course, I'm willing to wait while you finish your homework. What do you say?"

Kelly glanced at Sonic, who grinned and gave her a thumbs up. She smirked a bit "You're on! I've been waiting for a chance to duel!"

* * *

><p>"This is gonna be good!" Jaden said enthusiastically. He and his roommates along with a few other slifers and Professor Banner gathered to watch the duel. Like Kelly and Alaric, he, Syrus and Chumley had been doing their homework in their room. Unfortunately, the trio weren't as successful in finishing it. Something Syrus wasn't about to forget.<p>

"We're just here for a break, Jay. Then we'll go back and finish the homework."

"Aw, come on, Sy! Do you have to ruin my fun?"

"Do you want another detention? I thought the last one was bad enough!"

Alaric looked at Kelly as she put on her duel disk "Good luck, I've been waiting to see your deck."

"Well then, prepare for a show!" She winked and walked to the field.

Estelle smiled_ "This should be interesting." _

_"I'll say." _Yuri appeared to her right. _"I've been wondering what Sonic can do in a duel."_

_"It's no surprise you get along so well. Sonic's a bit like you." _

_"You think so?" _It was no secret to those watching them that he and the hedgehog had hit off pretty good. Yuri was honestly a bit surprised himself but he could tell they would make good friends.

_"Absolutely, I can wait to see this."_

_"Now that I can agree to."_

Alaric felt someone tap his shoulder and turned his head to see a grinning Lysander make his way over, soon followed by Megara. He smiled "Hey, guys. What're you doing here?"

"Actually, we were here to see you two. But then we heard about the duel, this'll be good!" The first answered.

"I sure hope you're ready." Bastion called to his opponent.

"Right back at you."

Bastion: 4000

Kelly: 4000

"You can go first," Kelly offered.

"All right then, I draw!" Bastion paused. "I'll set one monster facedown along with two cards to end my turn."

"Here we go!" Kelly drew. "I'll start off with the continuous spell Master Emerald!" The ground shook a bit and an altar rose behind Kelly holding a great green emerald on the top.

"I've never heard of such a card..." Bastion raised an eye.

"Haven't you heard? My deck's full of surprises. But enough of that now, I'll summon up Guardian Blaze!"

A lavender colored anthropomorphic cat wearing a violet shirt with light purple pants, red shoes and white gloves appeared. (A: 1700, D: 1500)

"And she'll attack your monster!"

Blaze conjured up a fireball and lobbed it at the card, revealing it to be an Obsidian Dragon, the monster proceeded to slice her blast in half with its tail (A: 800, D: 2100)

Kelly: 3800

Bastion: 4000

Bastion smirked "I hope you didn't think it would be so easy. Your monster can't get past mine."

Kelly just smiled "For now, but I'll just throw my Red Emerald spell card in."

Blaze gave her a smile _"Good choice." _A fiery red emerald colored stone appeared for a moment before turning into a fiery lance which she struck Bastion with.

"Red Emerald takes away 1200 lifepoints. 300 for each of Blaze's levels." Kelly explained as the cat gracefully somersaulted back to her.

"Nice play." Chumley thought out loud.

Kelly: 3800

Bastion: 2800

"Oh and Blaze gets a 100 points for every spell in my graveyard." Blaze was surrounded by a fiery red aura that powered her up (A: 1900-2000)

"Well, that's just..." Bastion's eyes widened. "2000 attack points?!"

"Yeah, what gives?" Jaden wondered.

"Come on, isn't it obvious?" Megara asked.

Alaric looked at the Master Emerald "It's that spell card."

"Bingo!" Kelly said. "As long as the Master Emerald is on the field, all my monsters get 200 attack points. It also lets me add a card with Emerald in its name to my hand in my turn."

"Huh, I thought something was wrong with her duel disk when she only lost 200 points." Banner admitted.

"Anyway, to wrap this up. I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn." Kelly said, two facedowns appearing behind Blaze.

Bastion took a card "I don't think I like that Master Emerald of yours, Kelly. I'm afraid I'll have to crush it with Mystical Space typhoon."

"Fat chance! I play Violet Emerald," the girl activated her trap. "This puts a counter on my spell for each Emerald card in my hand, field or graveyard. And I'm counting three, meaning you can't destroy it before getting rid of the counters!"

Three energy blasts formed from the aforementioned places to gather into a shield that stopped the quick play spell.

Bastion growled "Fine then, I activate Mystic Plasma Zone! Then I'll put in Field Barrier to make sure it stays in place." The scenery changed when activated the field spell to become a barren wasteland with a purple sky. "And I'll sacrifice Obsidian Dragon for Dark General Freed." A warrior with an evil green in dark armor appeared (A: 2300-2800)

Kelly couldn't help the shiver that passed through her spine. She heard about this card "That's what he looks like? I think I like the other one better...he's creepy."

"Then you might want to close your eyes because he will attack your monster now." Bastion advised as the general dispatched Blaze with a couple of slashes from his sword.

Kelly: 3000

Bastion: 2800

"They're nearly even just like that, whoa." Syrus commented.

Jaden grinned, enjoying every bit of this "I knew this was gonna be good!"

Kelly drew as her turn started "Well, since you're obviously willing to keep the dark atmosphere I'll go along with it and summon Agent Shadow!"

A black and red anthropomorphic hedgehog wearing gold ring, gloves, and black, white and red boots appeared. (A: 1800-2500, D: 1200-800). What took some of the spectators by surprise was his resemblance to a certain other hedgehog in Kelly's deck.

"Now I'll activate Shadow's effect, letting me get a monster from my deck. Also, Master Emerald letting me pick another emerald card," She took two cards into her hands after searching her deck.

"Hey, she's covering her bases well." Lysander commented.

"While you have found a tough monster, even with the boost from your Master Emerald and my Mystic Plasma Zone, Shadow doesn't stand a chance against Freed." Bastion said.

The hedgehog rolled his eyes. Kelly felt like doing the same but she refrained "Ah-ah, when did I say I was done?" Bastion blinked. "I'm giving my friend here the equip spell Power ring!" Shadow's rings began glowing.

He smirked _"That's more like it." _(A: 2500-3300)

"That'll do nicely, wouldn't you say?" Kelly grinned. "All right, Shadow, show'em your stuff with Chaos Spear!"

The hedgehog jumped up and raised an arm, bringing down a hail of golden spears to take Freed out.

Bastion: 2300

Kelly: 3000

"A sweet thing about Power ring is that it doesn't just boost my monster, I can restore my lifepoints by 200 for the difference between Freed and Shadow's attack points." Kelly chirped as Shadow gave her a green energy sphere resembling a chaos emerald which she happily took, replenishing her lifepoints back to 4000. "Thanks Shadow, now I'll just set a monster and card before passing it on to you."

"She's fully recharged!" Chumley said, wide-eyed.

"I can't believe Santana's giving him so much trouble." One of the slifers said.

"I know, she's out dueling a Ra! And he was the best in the entrance exam!"

"I hope you don't think you'll win ." Bastion said.

"Hey, a duel's not over till it's over, right? I say bring it!" Kelly responded.

"Very confident, aren't we? You're not the only one who can increase their hand, I play Allure of Darkness!" Bastion took two additional cards after removing a monster from play. "Now I'll play Different Dimension Reincarnation to bring back the Summoned Skull I just removed, so come on!" The powerful lightning fiend rose (A: 2500-3000, D: 1200-800) "I'll also activate Double Summon to bring up Witch's apprentice and Dark Crusader!"

Witch's apprentice was a little girl in a witch's outfit with red hair riding a broom (A: 900-1400)

Dark Crusader stood next to her, sword at the ready (A: 1600-2000)

"Now I'll activate Dark Crusader's effect, discarding 1 dark monster for a 400 attack points boost!" Bastion added, Dark Crusader's sword grew bigger as he lifted it (A: 2000-2400)

Kelly raised an eye "What're you up to?"

"This! I'll activate my Nox Ritual! This lets my monsters power up by the difference in our attack points times 100." Bastion said, smirking at the gasps this elicited. "If it makes you feel any better, you're allowed to draw 2 cards." His opponent took the chance.

"That's some boost!"

"Bastion's really going in! Kelly shouldn't have provoked him like that!" Syrus cringed as Bastion's monsters powered up again.

"Now I've gotta duel her, she's really brave!" Jaden said, making his friend nearly fall over.

"Jaden! She's going to lose!"

"How about we wait and see before releasing the final judgement?" Banner told the short slifer.

Megara noticed Kelly's calm expression even as the attacks hit and smirked to herself. She didn't see it ending so easily...

"Well, it's been fun, Kelly but that's that."

"No chance!"

Bastion's eyes widened as the smoke from the attacks cleared to find that Shadow was still standing. Not only that, Sonic was on the field and Kelly had 1950 lifepoints. To top it off, Witch's apprentice and Dark Crusader were gone.

"How can this be?!"

"One thing you should know me Bastion is that I never back away from a duel. My friends will never let me hear the end of it for one thing," Kelly said.

_"True that," _Sonic placed his hands behind his head with a casual grin.

"And I never could bear it either," she added. "See, I let your Summoned Skull's attack hit but I activated White Emerald to make sure Shadow sticks around, Problem is, I had to halve his attack points. But as a new little bonus, removing White Emerald from play after using it lets me activate another effect, to destroy the monsters on your field with less attack that Shadow's original points."

"Original? But that means..."

"Right, points with no boost. Shadow's original attack was 1800 so both of them were goners." Kelly nodded, glad that he was catching on. "Also, discarding my Gold Whirlwind spell and another spell from my hand lets me special summon a monster that's the same level as one on the field." That explained Sonic's arrival. "So, you got anything else for me?"

Bastion sighed "For now, no. But I'll warn you now. I'm ready to end this next turn."

"Funny, you should say that. So am I!" Kelly took a card. "All right now, I'll summon up Freedom Fighter-Tails the Fox!" The fox took to the skies before landing between the two hedgehogs. "And I'll pay 1000 lifepoints to activate his effect..."

_"I'm on it!" _Tails sent a beam of light to the graveyard, making a card come out.

"...Letting get the spell I discarded. Knights of the Round!" Kelly inserted it. "This way I can get a new monster on the field by sending Shadow to the graveyard. Enter the fray, Sir Lancelot!"

A hedgehog about Shadow's size with the same colors wearing armor that covered his eyes with a sword in hand replaced Shadow in a flash of light. Since he was a dark monster too, Lancelot gained the boost from Mystic Plasma Zone. (A: 2700-3200, D: 1900-1500)

"Nice!" Lysander said, surprised and impressed.

Bastion raised an eye "Impressive as that was, he still is no match for Summoned Skull."

"Lancelot's my second strongest knight for a reason, you know." Kelly said calmly. "When he's summoned with Knights of the round, I can give him a six hundred points boost."

"What?!"

"Let's give that a monster a taste of your Chaos Punishment, shall we?"

Lancelot took that as his cue and charged, destroying the powered up Summoned Skull.

"Okay, boys, he's all yours!"

Sonic and Tails attacked, ending the duel.

Bastion: 0

Kelly: 1950

Winner: Kelly

* * *

><p>"All right!"<p>

"That was awesome, you two!" Jaden said to his friends, walking up to Bastion as Alaric went to Kelly.

"That was something else, your deck's great. No wonder you're so happy with it." Alaric said.

Kelly giggled "Thanks, I thought of that combo this morning and I had to try it out. The rest just played out in my favor."

"That was very well done, you two. I think you've entertained everyone plenty." Banner smiled.

"Man, so Jaden's not the only one we need to look out for around here." Lysander grinned.

"Yeah, we've got a dangerous combo here too." Megara said, watching Kelly and Alaric. "Though I don't think they'll stay Slifers for long."

* * *

><p><em>And that's it!<em>

_Whew, that duel was hard. I was having trouble with it but the whole thing worked out well enough. Opinions on Kelly's deck anyone? I'd appreciate any. I hope you like the chapter. I've got good plans for the upcoming chapters so they'll hopefully turn out better.  
><em>

_I'm out!_


	5. Preparations and Tests

_Sonic: Hey, Lana!_

_(No answer, Solana typing and listening to music) _

_Sonic: Hello?_

_(Again no answer)_

_Sonic (takes off headphones): Solana!_

_Solana: Oh hey, Sonic! (He rolls his eyes)...What?_

_Sonic: Never mind. Why did you call me here?_

_Solana: Oh, I wanted to ask if you'd do the disclaimer._

_Sonic: Sure thing. Solana Leonhart doesn't own Yugioh GX, the Tales of Series or any of us. What she owns is her plot and OCs._

* * *

><p>Mindy tilted her head at Jaden's sullen expression and said "Anybody mind telling me what's wrong with him?"<p>

Syrus sighed, wearing an expression similar to the brunet. "Didn't you hear what Crowler just said?"

She blinked, the class was clearing out now and Crowler had already took off, looking surprisingly gleeful. "You mean you're sulking because of the exams?"

"Yes." The two answered in tandem.

"Good grief. This is why you guys are known as slackers, you know. It totally fits," Jasmine deadpanned as she made to leave.

Megara gave the Slifers a curious look "You know, I never took Jaden for a guy who'd get test anxiety."

"That makes two of us." Kelly admitted.

"Tests are the worst..." Jaden mumbled.

"It is strange for him," Bastion said, agreeing with the girls. "But I take it you're both doing all right there, chaps?"

"Sure, everything's set here." Kelly answered before looking at Alaric. "Ricky?"

He blinked and looked at her before nodding with a small smile. But it wasn't exactly reassuring "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, my head just hurts..."

"That doesn't exactly fall in the okay department, you should get some rest." Bastion advised.

"Right..."

"In case you need any help, feel free to ask." Megara offered, lifting her DP. Kelly made a similar suggestion then.

He stiffened for a moment as his vision blurred as he felt a strange heat well up inside him, eyes widening in bewilderment. Glad that he had his back to his friends there, Alaric turned to give them a grateful look "Thanks."

* * *

><p>"Gaah!" A boy exclaimed when Lysander came in his room, purposely making the door hit the wall. "Dude, ever heard of knocking?"<p>

"I did, Nate! It started to get old after ten minutes," Lysander said irritably. "I only figured you were here because of all the mumbling. What'd you call me for?"

"Hey, I don't remember calling you..."

Lysander's eye twitched as he fished out his DP and showed Nate's message.

"Oh." Nate blinked. "Oh, yeah! I need your help, this is really important!"

"I kinda figured from the message. What's up?"

Nate sounded like he wanted to cry, a second later, a waterfall of tears fell from his eyes "I think I forgot everything we learned! I'm totally going to fail!"

"Hah?"

* * *

><p>Unsurprisingly, Nate wasn't the only one having a panic attack. Over in the Slifer dorm, Syrus was too. After calming down, he decided to use all the time he had to cram as much as he can and hopefully pass. He wanted to study with his roommates but Chumley had practically vanished after classes ended and keeping Jaden on track would take too much time and patience, two things he wasn't sure he had.<p>

Not that he wasn't trying though, but he wasn't sure if the brunet was listening at all. Syrus groaned when he finished reading the effects of Dangerous Machine Type-6 "Jaden, are you listening?! This could come up tomorrow! I thought you wanted to pass!"

"Hey, I try to pass, it just doesn't work out."

"How the heck are you so calm about this? I thought you hated tests too."

"I just don't see the point of freaking out about it. You know where Chumley is?"

"I'm wondering about that myself, actually..."

* * *

><p>"Well, I see you're one of the few calm ones, Kelly."<p>

The girl smiled at Banner "I think I'll do okay, Professor. It's just like you told me the first day. Just take the lessons day by day and it'll play out."

He nodded in approval. "Good, that's just what I wanted to hear. I'm just here to thank you for helping Alaric along."

"Ah, Ricky didn't need much help, just a little push in the right direction. It was nice to study with someone who actually tries for a change," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Now that you mention it, you two are getting along very nicely."

She raised an eye "Your point? Far as I'm concerned, if people treat me well, I do the same back."

He chuckled "Very fair. That's what I thought."

* * *

><p>The spirit of Freya, the spirit of victory blinked curiously at Nate's picture from Megara's DP <em>"I never realized humans could talk so quickly..."<em>

"Yeah, funny thing is, neither did I. Nate, if you think I understood that then you're crazy."

Lysander sighed and pushed the boy away from his DP screen before facing Megara "I figured you wouldn't. Basically, wise guy here's having some nervous break down and he wants some help to review."

"Oh." Finally something that made sense. "Well, you still have that red notebook you took from me before?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's full of...well, I guess you can call them summaries. I wrote what I figured would be the most important stuff from a bunch of classes on one half. The other half has revision notes if you're interested. They should help."

Nate perked up "Megara, you're the best!"

"I know and don't you forget it," she replied with a teasing smirk. Freya giggled while Lysander just laughed before ending the call.

* * *

><p>Alaric woke up with a start the next morning, looking alarmed. His hand flew to his heart as he tried to steady his rapid breathing. After a minute, he let out a sigh and leaned back on the bed.<p>

'What was that?' He thought to himself. 'I think I had some nightmare but...why can't I remember what it was about?'

Thinking back, he had seen some kind of storm somewhere near a building that looked oddly like...a mansion? Yeah, that was it...then there were soldiers fighting in a wasteland...and a great white and green dragon talking to someone and then taking to the sky...

First that odd feeling, now this. None of it made any sense, what was going on with him?

* * *

><p>"So you guys coming?" Jaden asked.<p>

Kelly shrugged "I don't see why not. I don't think I'll find anything that will help me though."

"Oh, yeah, your deck's a little piece of work, huh?"

She gave him a pointed look "Watch it, Jay."

"Oh, he's just jealous because you've got more talent in one finger than he has in his entire hand." Megara said. She did find it impressive that Kelly created her whole deck and handled it so well. If there was anything the girls agreed on, it was that they would not listen to anyone dissing their decks.

He winced from being double teamed "Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant..."

"You've really got a way with girls, Jaden." Lysander said as the E-hero duelist tried to explain himself before he looked at Alaric. "Hey, you coming with us?"

But it was clear that he wasn't listening from the curious look he gave the Ra then. "To the card shop, apparently there are rare cards coming today."

"Oh, um, okay." Jaden, Syrus, Kelly, Alaric and Lysander left the class.

It was then that the Ra decided to ask "Something wrong? You've been acting funny."

Alaric didn't think they'd believe him if he said nothing so he answered honestly "...I've got a lot on my mind." It was true, the dream, confusing as it was, really weighed on him. It felt important but he didn't have the foggiest idea why.

"See, Jay, I'm not the only one worried about the test." Syrus said, gesturing at the NP duelist.

"Oh, come on..."

Kelly raised an eye "Please tell me you weren't thinking about that."

Alaric shook his head. He'd have forgotten all about it if it wasn't for Estelle's reminder last night and nearly everyone talking about it in the past two days.

"Well last time I checked you guys were doing good." They hadn't talked about homework or anything but Lysander was thinking of the time Crowler handed back their latest homework with Kelly and Alaric ending up being the only Slifers not to receive a talking to or a condescending comment from the Obelisk Headmaster. He also remembered Jaden looking impressed when he peeked at their papers at the time. "Talking of, why are you even in Slifer, Kelly? I mean with Ricky's a transfer student so it makes sense but Bastion told me you could have started in Ra yellow."

"I just wanted to work my way to the top."

"Heh, that's cool..." He stopped as someone in black with a briefcase ran off in the passage before them. "...What was that?"

Jaden and Syrus came out of the shop with the latter looking upset. When asking what's wrong, he answered. "Someone took all the cards. Now I'm going to have to do the test without anything...We only found one pack."

"You can always make use of that." Jaden chipped in helpfully.

"But what about you? Without any new cards..."

"It'll be fine. I never fail."

Syrus looked back at the rest of the group "And you guys?"

"Hey, my deck's been set for a while. I just didn't have anything better to do." Lysander shrugged.

"...Actually, that passes for both of us." Kelly smiled at Alaric's sheepish expression. He clearly agreed. "I just thought I'd see what those rare cards were like but since they're taken, you can have it."

"Yeah, hope they help you." Alaric added.

Syrus' eyes watered "Thanks a lot!"

* * *

><p>"This is looking like a total waste of time."<p>

"Cut it out, Jaz. I didn't ask you to come." Alexis sighed at the redhead's tone.

"You look pretty interested though." Mindy said to the Obelisk queen.

"Well, it's mostly because I want to see how this plays out. I heard from Jaden about Alaric's deck. According to him, they're cards like no other."

"Whoa, really?" She tried to spot the boy in the crowd and found him talking to Jaden, Bastion and Kelly. "Like what?"

"He wouldn't tell me. He says I need to actually see them but it sounds like a good surprise. Besides, can one of you actually think of anything to do since we already finished our practical tests?"

Mindy blinked "Now that you mention it..." She glanced at Jasmine. "Never mind her. We really don't."

"So, you're going first. Good luck," Bastion said.

"Thanks."

"Hey, someone needs to go first and remind Sy how it's done." Jaden chipped in.

"Remind? What do you..." Kelly paused. "...Don't tell me he's panicking again."

"Okay, I won't." Both glanced at the slifer in question who was reorganizing his deck for the third time in less than an hour. "Let's try this again. Sy, if you keep this up you'll wear yourself down before the duel even starts."

"But...But I need to get ready or I'll fail!"

"You've been saying that for the past half-hour. Just try and watch some of the duels and more importantly, loosen up. You're really going to mess up if you get in your duel like this." Kelly said.

"That's easy for you to say! There's a really big chance I'll fail!"

Alaric frowned "Why?" The three looked at him. "You've been saying that ever since yesterday but why are you so sure you'll fail? Ever tried thinking on the positive side and believing that maybe you'll pass?"

"Yeah! See, that's exactly what I told him before," Jaden smiled. "Look, just relax and enjoy the show. Duels are about having fun, you know?" Honestly, he was hoping Syrus could watch him and the others win so he could get some seriously needed boost in morale.

"Besides, leaving your deck like that is never a good idea. Your potential opponent might spot some of them." Bastion pointed out.

Syrus' eyes widened "Whoa, you're right!" He quickly gathered them up, he refused to take any chances on this.

"It's a start." Jaden said as Syrus stood next to him and Alaric went to the duel field as a boy with dark yellow hair in a similar outfit came up on the other side.

The boy blinked "Oh, hey, I remember you. You're the one who actually tied with Jaden Yuki."

"Oh that?" He'd honestly forgotten about that duel. "Yeah, you saw it?"

"Dude, half the dorm did. You've actually been getting famous ever since," the boy said with an amused look. "Lemme guess, Yuki never told about his entrance exam, right?"

"Actually, no."

"Then just ask him about it after we're done, then you'll see why your first duel's a big deal." The boy paused as they strapped their duel disks on. "Anyway, name's Joshua. You're a nice kid, but I don't plan on holding back so gimme best your shot."

"Right." Alaric said and both drew their starting hands.

Alaric: 4000

Joshua: 4000

"It's my move and I draw!" Joshua declared, pausing to look at his cards. "I'll start of with Marauding Captain and using his effect, I'll call another one to the field." Two identical blond warriors clad in armor appeared (A: 1200, D: 400) "With Quick Rush, one of my captains can attack now!" The one in question charged and slashed Alaric, who responded by defending with his duel disk as the attack took effect and brought his life 2800. "And I'll just set this facedown to end my turn."

"He gets an attack on the first turn? Cool, I gotta get that card!" Jaden said.

"Here goes." Alaric took his sixth card. "I activate the field spell Halure." Their surroundings changed into a simple town with a giant tree in the middle, Alaric and Joshua were standing near the tree's roots. Petals fell off from one of the tree branches to the ground.

"Nice..." Jaden said.

"It's like a place from a story book or something." Mindy commented, bending to pick one of the petals near her.

"I'll start off by summoning Nexus Paladin-Richard in defense mode." A young man with shoulder length blond hair and brown eyes wearing a nice white and green outfit appeared. (A: 1850, D: 1850).

"Wait, in defense mode?" Bastion said, voicing out what many people thought.

"Yeah, why? He's tougher than both the captains." Syrus added.

"Well, he can't attack with them both anyway so he must be working something out." Kelly reasoned.

"One of Halure's effects lets me summon a level 4 or lower Nexus Paladin if I don't attack so I'll summon Nexus Paladin-Elise." This time it was a girl with green tinted blond hair in pig tails wearing a blue jacket over a pink shirt and skirt with matching shoes. (A: 1400, D: 1400)

Kelly couldn't help but smile and voice what a number of observers were thinking "Oh, she's adorable."

The girl in question was currently looking around the arena _"So this is the practical? What a crowd..."_

_"Indeed," _Richard agreed, though he seemed to expect the unusual attention they were getting. _"Well then, Alaric, let's make this a good duel."_

_"Yeah! It's our first one with you." _Elize smiled.

Alaric smiled back and quietly responded "Then I hope I won't disappoint." He raised his voice then. "I'll just set a card facedown and end my turn."

"Trying to get some good defense up, huh? It won't help you." Joshua drew. "I'll play Command Knight!" A female warrior with blond hair and mostly red armor appeared between the Marauding Captains. (A: 1200, D: 1900) "And she gives my warriors 400 attack points."

MC (A: 1200-1600) CK (A: 1200-1600)

"Now I'll give my Captain the Lightning Sword for a boost!"

A sword surrounded by an electric appeared on the first warrior's hand. (A: 1600-2400)

"This is bad..." Syrus said.

"Yup, for him. Because now I play Double Attack so he can take out both monsters!" Joshua added, activating another spell. "Now go!"

They were all stunned to see Richard conjure up a dark purple energy shield that blocked the warrior's sword.

"What's this?" Bastion asked.

"One of Richard's effects," Alaric stated. "When he's in defense mode, he can't be destroyed by battle."

Joshua groaned "I should have known something was up! All right, take Elise out."

"Then I'll activate her ability. If she's in attack mode, by paying a certain number of lifepoints, she can drain twice the amount from your monster."

"What?!"

Elize waved her hand in a circular motion and a white energy ring appeared around her and Alaric, who proceeded to pay 600 points. The rings merged together and hit the attacking Marauding Captain and lowered his points by 1200, halving his power.

"Now would you please counter?" Alaric asked.

_"Sure!" _A staff appeared in the girl's hand as a magic circle appeared under her. Then Marauding Captain was hit by a sphere of darkness that destroyed him.

Alaric: 2200

Joshua: 3800

"No...way..." Jasmine muttered.

"What do you know, Jaden was right. I did not see that coming." Alexis mused.

"You know, he's not bad at all." Mindy added.

Joshua scowled "All right, I'll just set this and end my turn."

Alaric drew again "Let's see...I'll sacrifice Elize to summon up Nexus Paladin-Great Spirit Muzet." Elize disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced by a woman in her twenties with wings and long flowing bluish green hair and green eyes in a white and blue dress. (A: 2400, D: 2400)

Jaden blinked at the whistles that arose from parts of the crowd. "What's with them?" He then noticed Syrus' dreamy look. "And with him?"

Kelly just rolled her eyes while Bastion sighed "You'll understand when you're older, Jay."

_"Ah, don't mind them. I saw this coming." _ Muzet smiled when she saw that Alaric looked upset and was about to speak.

"Yeah, but they're looking at you like you're some kind of..."

_"Piece of meat, yes, we all agree on that." _Richard said with a sigh.

But Muzet clearly didn't care _"Well, I'm flattered that you care enough to defend me but how about we concentrate on this now? It's important after all."_

Alaric looked a tad unsure but continued when Richard gave him an assuring nod. "All right..."

"You planning to suicide your monster or something? Your little friend's effect finished." Joshua pointed out, reminding that Marauding Captain's points returned to normal.

"Yeah, I know and to answer your question, no chance. When Muzet's summoned, I can destroy up to 3 cards on your field. Malign Gravity!"

Muzet flew up and launched a purple sphere towards Joshua's field and watched as it wiped out his monsters.

"All right then, I'll just make use of this now. Waboku!" Joshua activated his trap just before it was destroyed.

Alaric knew that the card would make any attacks he launched now pointless. "I'll use Halure's effect to summon Nexus Paladin- Ludger and with his effect I can get any equip card from my deck. For now I'll give him Deathly Abyss." A set of black and crimson pistols appeared in Ludger's hand. "This lets me damage your lifepoints by half of Ludger's points in exchange for not attacking."

Ludger fired a shot which Joshua blocked with his duel disk.

Alaric: 2200

Joshua: 3150

After conforming that his opponent's turn was over when he set a card, Joshua drew a card. "I'll turn the duel around with this. Gearfried the Iron Knight!" A swordsman in full black armor appeared (A: 1800, D: 1000). "And more importantly, Release Restraint!"

"That's bad..." Bastion said.

"With it, Gearfried can get his full power when he's rid of the armor so here's Gearfried the Swordsmaster!" Gearfried was surrounded by a torrent of energy that seemed to destroy his armor, revealing the powerful man underneath (A: 2600, D: 2000)

"Whoa, that's what he's like without the armor?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, the story goes that Gearfried took the armor to control his power because it was so great and I think anybody can see why with that card." Kelly explained.

"No kidding..."

"Man, I'm glad I'm not facing that guy..." Syrus whimpered.

"Now, I'll get my ace here some good boosts. Like Divine Sword-Phoenix Blade! And when he's got an equip card, he can destroy any card on the field and Muzet's the unlucky one!" The spirit was taken out by the swordmaster's powerful shockwave. "I'll throw in Twin Swords of Flashing Light-Tryce! This lowers Gearfried's attack points by 500 but he can attack twice per turn, now he'll destroy Richard!" The new spell brought Gearfried's points to 2400 as the violet twin blades unleashed an electric blast that took the second paladin out.

But Alaric wasn't backing down now "Don't forget, with Halure on the field I can stop you from destroying my paladins in battle."

"Yeah, which is why I'm setting up to wrap things. Remember you won't have that protection for long." Joshua said confidently.

"Oh man, he's right. That card's too powerful. I don't see what he could do..." Syrus said.

"And you know that how?" Kelly raised an eye. "We've barely seen anything from Ricky's deck so I know he's got a couple of good surprises there. Besides, he's doing a good job so far."

"Yeah, and a duel's not over until the last card is played so let's watch." Jaden added.

Alaric drew a card and looked at his hand "All right, first I play Pot of Greed to get two cards." He took two additional ones "Now I play Double Summon to summon Nexus Paladin-Jude and Cheria!"

A teenager with messy black hair and amber eyes wearing an off white lab coat with a dark red shirt and pants with black shoes appeared next to Ludger. (A: 1800, D: 1800)

A girl with magenta hair and chocolate brown eyes wearing a beige and red dress with matching boots came out. (A: 1300, D: 1300)

"You're doing a nice job of keeping your cool but shouldn't you be defending?" asked Joshua.

"You'll understand why I'm not soon. First things first, Ludger's effect lets me swap an equip card on him for another in my deck, hand or graveyard so..." Alaric looked through his deck. "...How about this one? Phact Phantasia!" Twin blades appeared in his hands then boosting his points by 600. "Cheria's effects boosts my lifepoints to twice her level times 100 every turn."

"Twice her level? So..."

"A level 4 monster would bring him an 800 point boost." Bastion calculated and watched as Cheria created a white sphere of light and gave it to Alaric who accepted with a thanks.

_"You're welcome." _She smiled.

_"So everything okay?" _Jude asked him.

"Yup, watch this. I play the trap Punishing Blossom," Alaric stated, revealing a facedown. "Normally I'd have to pay the cost but with Cheria here I can skip that and destroy cards on your field."

Before Joshua could react, Cheria took a dagger _"Swarm of infinite blades..."_ and quickly unleashed a swarm of daggers that suddenly froze in mid-air _"Your dreams shatter and fall!"_ She threw a last dagger "_Punishing..."_ She snapped her fingers. _"Blossom!" _

The daggers flew towards Gearfried the Swordsmaster and destroyed him immediately. At Alaric's request, the remaining paladins attacked. Ludger sent out a blade of energy from his sword and Jude kicked Joshua, bringing his points to 0.

Alaric: 3000

Joshua: 0

Winner: Alaric

* * *

><p>"That was awesome!"<p>

Alaric started when Lysander draped an arm around his shoulder when he got off the field. "T-thanks, you were watching?"

"Yup, we just made in time to get the good part." He pointed at the stand where Megara was approaching Jaden and the others. The redhead spotted him looking and waved them over. An amused Jude followed, remembering that only 4 of the kids could see him in this form.

"So, you guys won too, right?" Kelly asked.

"Totally, in fact Meg here demolished her opponent." Lysander said.

"Pot, this is kettle, you're black." Megara said pointedly.

Bastion smiled a bit "So, someone's being modest here."

"Yup, everything's playing out well." Jaden grinned.

"You even had a back up, nice." Kelly said to Alaric.

He looked at Jude, who seemed just as confused "How'd you know?"

Kelly smiled and strapped on her duel disk "I have my ways. It's my turn now."

* * *

><p>Her opponent was a boy she had the misfortune of running into on her first day. And I say misfortune because he happened to be the most cocky person she ever met. And that was saying something considering she knew Chazz Princeton. The self proclaimed Prince of the blue dorm who had a crush on Alexis.<p>

His name was Brandon and he had messy green hair and brown eyes. She remembered him insisting that placing him in Slifer was a mistake they were going to realize soon. Not that she really cared to listen, Shadow had told her that a weak dog's bark is worse than it's bite. And while she thought it was harsh before, she thought the hedgehog had a good point when it comes to Brandon.

"What do you know, I'm facing you, Santana?" He smirked. "Don't feel too bad when it's over. Hey, I know! How about we go on a date afterwards?"

Kelly activated her duel disk "I wouldn't go with you when you asked me the first time and I really don't plan on changing my mind. And for once, get my name right, it's Kelly!"

"Now don't be like that. You're really wasting..."

"Yeah, I'm wasting everyone's time with this stupid chat. Can we get down on this already?"

"Suit yourself."

Kelly: 4000

Brandon: 4000

"Here we go!" Kelly drew a sixth card. "I'll summon up Babylon Rogue-Jet!" A green anthropomorphic hawk with sky blue eyes wearing glasses on his head and red and black boots appeared. (A: 1600, D: 1500) "And when he's summoned, he swipes one of your cards!"

Jet grinned and dashed towards the opponent's side, grabbing a card before returning to his side with a _"Here ya go, Princess."_

Brandon scowled at the bird, who smirked cockily back.

Kelly blinked "Magical Stone Excavation, huh? I can use this! But for now, I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Brandon took a card and scowled "I'll play Gaia Power!" The field changed to a forest with a particularly tall tree behind him. "Now all my earth monsters get 500 attack points! And I'll use the boost with Warrior Dai Grepher!" A dark haired swordsman in similar dark clothing with a sword in his hand appeared. (A: 1700-2200) "Take out that poultry!"

"Fat chance! I activate the quick spell-Switch in, this lets me swap a monster on my field with one of my hand as long as its the same level. So Jet's going to tag out..." Kelly began.

The hawk smirked _"Bye." _He vanished in a flash of light.

"...with Agent Rouge!" She finished, placing a new card at the ready. Rouge was an anthropomorphic white bat with teal eyes, wearing a black and white shirt with matching pants and white and purple shoes. (A: 1700, D: 1200) The bat wasted no time in somersaulting to avoid Dai Grepher's slash and pushed him back with a quick kick.

Kelly: 3500

Brandon: 4000

"What the...?" Brandon spluttered.

"Rouge can't be destroyed up to twice per turn." Kelly explained. The bat then proceeded to hit Dai Grepher with a golden sphere that seemed to paralyze him in place. "Oh, did I mention that any monster who attacks her can't attack on the next turn?"

Rouge smiled _"What can I say? They just can't resist my charm."_

"Nice work!" Lysander said.

"Hardly!" Brandon sneered. "You still lost lifepoints so there's no points in protecting Those...them!" He was about to say freaks but he knew from experience that Kelly would not let anyone who insulted her cards get away with it. Let it never be said that he didn't learn from mistakes.

"That's what you think. Now, how about your finish your turn and stop questioning my strategy?" Kelly asked.

"Don't tell me what to do. There!" He said as a facedown appeared behind Dai Grepher.

"All right then," she drew again. "I summon up Freedom Fighter-Sonic the Hedgehog!" The blue hedgehog emerged in a flash, landing beside Rouge with a grin. "And when he's here, I get to pick a card and add it to my hand."

_"Well, looks like you're in time for the party," _Rouge said.

_"Yup, at least with better timing than last time." _Sonic responded.

Kelly had him take out Dai Grepher and Rouge went in for a direct attack. Brandon activated his Damage Condenser then, letting him get a monster with 1800 attack points. And it ended up being Dark Blade.

Kelly: 3500

Brandon: 2200

"That all? Pathetic!" Brandon said, taking a card.

"She's doing good!" Jaden commented.

_"I'm still trying to figure out where this guy gets his confidence. Kelly's outsmarting him every time." _Jude admitted.

Megara snorted "Tell me about it. I'd love to know how she has the patience to tolerate him."

"You think she'll be okay? That guy's still cocky...he's gotta have a plan." Syrus noted.

"It'll be fine. You worry too much." Alaric said, looking back at Kelly. Like him, Kelly completely trusted her deck and he knew that. He believed that trust would pay off.

"I play Polymerization to fuse Dark Blade with the Pitch Black Dragon in my hand to call up Dark Blade the Dragon Knight!" Dark Blade rode on the large black dragon's back and raised his sword. (A: 2200, D: 1500).

"See? I was right!" Syrus said as Brandon ordered an attack.

Kelly looked at the facedown to her right before glancing at Rouge. The bat seemed to know what she had in mind because she winked and said _"Do what you gotta do, hun."_

"All right, I'll play Shift and make Rouge the target!" Dark Blade immediately shifted gears and attacked the bat, who then hit him with the golden sphere to paralyze him.

Brandon scowled "You wanna lose lifepoints on purpose? Well, let me help you there! I play Meteor of Destruction and Poison of the old man, costing you 1800 points. Making it twenty three hundred with what you just lost from that trick!"

"Good, you can do math. I'm impressed." Kelly said sarcastically, unfazed as her points went to twelve hundred.

"What, you scared, cause you realized you're going to lose?" asked Brandon.

"Hardly, now end you turn so I can prove my point."

"Fine, but you need to set up to lose."

_"Someone's got an ego." _Sonic rolled his eyes.

"I know." Kelly took a card. "Now I play the little card Jet grabbed for me before. Magical Stone Excavation, discarding two cards to get Switch in back. And I'll activate my other trap, Call of the Haunted! Getting the monster I just discarded back, it's Agent Omega!"

A hulking black and red robot with a yellow head, grey claws and green eyes came up. (A: 2800, D: 2000)

"Whoa!"

"She's getting ready to wrap this up." Alexis said with a little smirk.

"Who else didn't see that coming?" Lysander asked his friends. Syrus and Jaden raised their hands.

"It is a surprise. I thought she ran a beast deck," Bastion said.

"I think big mouth over there agrees." Megara smirked when she saw Brandon's mouth fall.

"And since I get a normal summon, I think I'll just call up Agent Shadow," Kelly smiled.

"You going to attack? That'll be stupid! I can stop you!" Brandon said, trying to cover up his nervousness.

"I don't have to. I figured you were saving that facedown for something but with what I've got here, I won." Kelly said simply. "I play the spell Metal Storm! With my three Agents here, I can add their level to damage your lifepoints. I think 3000 points of damage should wrap this up nicely, wouldn't you?"

"Wait, what? I...time out!"

Shadow, Rouge and Omega started glowing with a white aura.

"Okay, Omega, lock and load!"

_"Acknowledged." _Omega raised an arm. Sharing a glance, Shadow and Rouge sent their aura into his arm, making it brim with power. The robot fired a powerful blast that went past Dark Blade and hit Brandon with enough force to knock him to the ground.

Kelly: 1200

Brandon: 0

Winner: Kelly

"That was great."

Kelly smiled at Alaric "Thanks, someone needed to knock him down a few pegs."

_"No wonder you went a little over kill there." _Jude commented.

"With someone obstinate like that, you can't go soft or it'll never work."

_"Can't argue with that."_

"And we start off with two great wins!" Jaden chirped. "Now we just gotta do the same!"

"Yeah, it is just you two left from us, Jay. When's your duel?" asked Lysander.

"In about 5 minutes."

* * *

><p><em>Yeeeah, sorry, but I'm going to stop here.<em>

_I figure this chapter is long enough and I'm too lazy to write up Jaden and Chazz's duel (I also nearly lost this file once when the laptop crashed and I'm kind of scared it would happen again so I'm trying to wrap it up) Besides, we all know how it's going to end anyway. I don't plan to copy every duel from the show, just the ones I don't have any specific plans for. Or the ones I really like (Jaden's duels with Blair and Dark Magician Girl come to mind. Hilarious!) _

_Well, I'm out!_


	6. Assassins and Shadow games- Part 1

_Lysander: So looks like you had some trouble here..._

_Solana: Oh, I was feeling pretty down lately and I didn't want my mood to affect my writing. So I gave myself a big break and took my time to make sure this turned out well._

_Kelly: Well, that's good. So you're okay now?_

_Solana: Yup! Mostly anyway, more importantly can one of you do the honors?_

_Kelly: Sure, I got it. Thanks to everyone who read this story. The authoress doesn't own anything except her own plot and OCs, like me and Lysander. _

_Solana: Sadly, that's true, Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"So why are they looking at me like that?"<p>

Chumley gave Jaden a clearly exasperated look. The two along with Syrus were making their way to the academy building, noticing the attention they were getting from a number of students.

"It's pretty obvious, you know. They just can't believe you wouldn't accept the promotion."

"That's it?" Jaden said. "Oh, come on! I don't see myself in one of those yellow blazers and I like it over at Slifer. "'Sides, Ricky and Kelly got in just fine so that's good enough."

"For you maybe." The three had been surprised but pleased when they found out that the two were offered promotions as well. They could agree that they fully earned it. Jaden would prove that Slifer dorm was just as good as the others in his own way while they would do it with theirs.

* * *

><p>"Wow, if this is the breakfast here, I wonder how the food in the Obelisk dorm is..." Kelly said as she put her plate away.<p>

"Ah, I think we can guarantee it isn't that good." Megara said.

"Totally," another Ra girl called Gina said. "I mean, come on. Professor Sartyr is pretty much a five star chef and he loves cooking too. I could even hear him singing to himself before. I bet it's those tiny finger sandwiches and those rare foods you get in really glamorous parties, you know?"

Kelly blinked "You know, I can actually see that."

"Me too." Megara added. "I thought Alexis would have told you. You are friends, right?"

"Oh, yeah. We've been neighbours for nearly two years now." Kelly said.

"Seriously?" Gina stared. "So what's she like? Standoffish and vain?"

"Ah, no and no." Kelly replied. "She's actually cool. I know she's way famous because of the obelisk queen thing but she hates that name. She worked real hard to get as far as she did."

"No wonder you two get along then."

* * *

><p>Lysander groaned inwardly.<p>

Two days passed since Kelly and Alaric were promoted to Ra Yellow. He and Megara had taken it upon themselves to show the two around and help them settle in. Everything was working out well enough. There was one thing he forgot about.

Nate was one of the two Ras who had gotten themselves involved in that kidnapping incident. And he recognized Alaric as his savior right away.

Now he wouldn't have worried about that much. Thing is, Nate's over-the-top reaction when he saw the Nexus Paladin duelist startled poor Alaric enough to hide behind Lysander. Not the first could blame him. He knew Alaric was a little shy by nature but he was managing not to let it get in the way. However, he did NOT need some people dragging something like that incident up. He wouldn't be surprised if Alaric had dreams about that day sometimes _(AN: Actually, he did.)_

It hadn't helped that Alaric had been completely spacing out before Nate showed up either.

"Nate, would get a hint already? You're freaking him out!"

Kor and Laquari watched this with slight wariness _"You know, after that kind of act I'd want to hide too."_

_"Agreed," _Laquari said as Alaric poked his head out from behind his friend.

"Sorry...but I'm really surprised, you know?" Nate said sheepishly.

"You made that clear." Lysander deadpanned and the spirits completely agreed with him. "And as to what he's doing here. It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah..."

Alaric looked from Nate to Lysander and back before managing a weak "Um, nice to...meet you?" It was a half-question since he wasn't sure if he met his friend's friend before his amnesia.

Luckily, Nate (sort of) understood the meaning. "Yup, nice to meetcha!"

* * *

><p>"How do you even put up with that Botany stuff anyway? It sounds boring."<p>

"I think very few things outside of dueling wouldn't be considered boring to you, Mr. Yuki."

Jaden stiffened when he recognized Professor Dean's voice as the woman stood behind him "H-hey, Professor, didn't see you there."

"Really? You could have fooled me." Samantha smirked teasingly.

"Ah, she's on to somethin' here, Jay. You sure you don't want to get in her class?" Megara asked.

"I don't think he's one for sitting still for periods unless it involves sleeping. At least that seems to be the most true assessment from Dr. Crowler." Samantha patted the brunette's head before looking at Kelly and Alaric. "Congrats on the promotion, you two. You deserve it."

"Thanks, Professor."

"I think one of you is going to have to snap Mr. Yuki here out of it. Shouldn't you all be going to lunch now?" She asked.

"Yeah, come on, Jaden." Syrus pulled him by the arm, trying to stifle his laughter as the group left for the shop.

"Oh, come on you guys, it wasn't that funny!"

"Beg to differ." Megara smiled. "You look like you were frozen solid."

"I thought I was in trouble! I didn't know she was there." Jaden frowned.

"Oh, she won't actually punish you for stating your opinion. Professor Dean's cool, just don't mess around her greenhouses and you're okay with her." Lysander stated.

"That makes sense. I think I'm starting to expect a lot of bad stuff after Crowler..."

* * *

><p>They caught sight of two obelisk boys giving their group an odd look before their eyes fell on Alaric and stiffened. The boy blinked confusedly back. What was up with that?<p>

"What's with them?" Syrus wondered.

Kelly sighed "What else? They recognized Ricky from the kidnapping but they're obviously too snobby to actually thank him. I don't know about you but Alexis is the only nice Obelisk I've seen."

"Yeah, they really are a rarity." They watched them leave. "It looks like you figured them out right too."

"You'd think they'd learn after getting themselves in something like that..." Lysander said.

"It's okay. I didn't get in that duel to get any thanks or something." Alaric put in.

"We know but that's besides the point."

Amethyst eyes blinked confusedly as their owner tilted his head "It is? I..."

"The point is they're the kind of people who wouldn't be caught dead being nice to someone below them. We heard them yesterday talking about it with their friend. That guy obviously didn't believe it and he started talking badly about you too. He was thinking they were hit too hard or something because there was a little slacker would so something like that. Professor Dean shut them up before we could." Megara explained. "You risked yourself back then for them all when you didn't have to and that's worth something, they can't just undermine something like that."

"Oh..." He really wasn't sure what to say to that. He still couldn't remember much about that incident besides the occasional dream about it every now and then. If it wasn't for the accounts he heard he wouldn't have believed himself capable of doing something like that. "...Well, it's over and done with, right? Thanks for wanting to help me out anyway."

Kelly shook her head. She expected that reaction since Alaric probably didn't have the faintest idea of what went down that day besides Yuri's account of the events. That and she didn't expect him to show much reaction after all. By the looks of it, neither did the others.

"Well, they can think what they want but when it gets down to it you can kick their butts in a duel." Jaden said, patting the boy's shoulder as they went to the dorms.

_"That's true," _Alaric blinked and turned to see Yuri at his left. _"So, everything okay? You've been acting pretty strange lately."_

He was about to protest and say he wasn't but the words died in his throat. He had seen that odd dream again last night and ever since then he had been getting a very strange feeling. He thought it might have been a memory tugging at his mind but he wasn't sure, but it was really strong.

To sum it up, he was really confused and told Yuri as much before adding "I'll...tell you when I figure it out...I think I'll just confuse you if I explain now."

He raised an eye but decided to give in for now. A part of him was worried because Alaric was looking pale but the other part was confused. He would make sure the Ra would get some rest soon. Something was clearly wrong. _"All right..."_

* * *

><p>"So you really didn't tell Nate don't remember that?" Kelly asked as she and Alaric picked up their lunch plates.<p>

"I tried to but I don't think he was listening to me. He was saying something about how happy his parents would be to meet me and whatnot..."

She sighed "Well, that figures...hey, you okay?" Alaric nodded, not looking at her. "All right, what's going on? We all noticed how you're acting funny. If something's troubling you, talk it over with one of your friends."

He bit his lip, figuring that he might as well admit part of the problem. "I don't know...it's just...I feel bad." The girl blinked. "Even after all this time, I can't remember anything about them."

It took Kelly a moment to realize he meant his parents. A suspicion that was confirmed when he continued "I can barely feel anything when they're brought up. Mr. Pegasus just told me they were very good people and that they really loved me but nothing comes to mind when I think of them. It's just...what kind of person forgets about their family?" He paused. "I shouldn't even...I know people went through worse but..."

"But that shouldn't stop you from admitting your own problems." Kelly said, putting their plates on the table and giving him a hug. "It's okay. I'm glad I didn't have to force it out of you some more. People may have worse problems but you've got a severe situation here. One you're handling well. So don't keep something like this to yourself as it clearly hurts, just share it with us. Your parents wouldn't blame you for this. No one would so you shouldn't either. It'll be all right. I'll help you out and I know the others will too so everything will be fine, okay?"

Alaric nodded, not trusting himself to speak then. He wasn't even sure what made him say it but this had been something he couldn't bring himself to admit for a long while now. But Kelly seemed to think it was all right...and she was relieved that he shared this...so it was okay, right? "I...um...th-thank you."

She laughed "Don't worry about it. Now let's eat."

* * *

><p>"Poor guy, that's rough..." Lysander said when Kelly explained this to him and Megara a little after their last lesson. Alaric had retreated to his room a little earlier. He hadn't said anything but he looked tired so they knew he was going to rest. "He's really too hard on himself."<p>

"Yeah, that's what I said. No surprise he's worried about them...he must have kept quiet for some time now, at least."

"It makes sense though," Megara began.

Freya, who was sitting on her shoulder, frowned in concern _"Yeah, but it's all strange. Pegasus couldn't find any clue about the Vegas' whereabouts or someone who knows what happened to Alaric to make him lose his memory. It's like they just up and vanished off the earth..."_

Lysander was suddenly glad Alaric wasn't here "Don't say that. There's got to be something people missed."

_"Sorry." _The fairy then noticed the tall figure of Vellian Crowler heading to the obelisk dorm with a wide grin. Suddenly she got a feeling things were about to go south, she really hoped it was wrong.

Unfortunately as the little fairy would find out later, her hunch was right on the money.

* * *

><p><em>"So let me get this straight..." <em>Kor began. _"This abandoned dorm is the place where a bunch of students disappeared without a trace and you could all be expelled for getting in there but Jaden still wants to go?"_

"Yup."

_"Hey, I like adventure as much as the next guy but that's just plain stupid."_

Lysander sighed "Preaching to the choir, big guy. We just need to catch up to remind him of that."

A while after Megara went to her room and finish up Professor Banner's homework, Lysander and Kelly, along with the newly arrived Alaric, were approached by Nate, who told them about Jaden's decision. He was hanging out with them in the dorm as they told scary stories and Jaden declared his wish to visit the dorm after hearing about it from Banner. Nate didn't think they'd all go but he distinctly remembered seeing them leave their dorm earlier.

Lysander had decided to keep this quiet from Megara on the off chance that Nate was wrong but it was starting to look like he wasn't...

* * *

><p>"Hey, Jaden, let's go back."<p>

"Why? We're nearly there."

"But this place is creepy!" Syrus groaned as he looked around the quiet forest. "Please! We're just going to get in trouble and...aah!" He stopped when the bushes began to rustle. "W-what was th-that?!"

"Hey, guys!" Jaden chirped when Lysander, Kelly and Alaric came out. "You want to check the place out too?"

"We're here to make sure you don't." The last responded.

"Don't even try to ask why." Lysander said irritably. "What are you even thinking? You know how much trouble you could get into for this?"

"Oh, come on, we're just going to have a little fun." Jaden said lightly, unfazed. "Besides, didn't you say you found the place interesting this morning?"

"Yeah, but it's not interesting enough to risk getting expelled."

"Really," Kelly sighed. "This place is nothing but trouble. Shouldn't this be clear by now?"

The brunette grinned "So you going to rat us out?"

Kor groaned, thinking _"He's not being stupid. He's missing the point on purpose!"_

"You're unbelievable." Kelly grumbled. "It's not worth the trouble."

"Please, just go back. We don't want you to get yourselves in trouble over something ridiculous like this." Alaric said. "This place just..." He glanced at the old building behind them. "...feels rotten."

He wasn't sure what he meant by that honestly but he knew that it was true the moment the words left his mouth. It wasn't just because of the stories. Something about this place just felt...wrong.

"You know what, Alaric, that's a pretty good way to put it." Alexis came up from behind one of the walls, surprising them. "It is rotten."

"And you guys were telling me it's all wrong. What're you doing here?" Jaden asked.

"They're right, it is wrong! And I've got my own reasons to be here, okay?!"

He flinched "Whoa, calm down! I didn't mean..."

Alexis sighed "Look...it's just...one of the kids who disappeared was my brother."

Silence reigned after the admission. Jaden ended up being the one to break it "Well, that settles it then. Let's go!"

"Hold on, what're you..." The E-hero duelist was still going to the dorm.

"It'll be fine. We can always find clues about the missing students!"

Kelly groaned "We should have gotten some more help..."

Alexis sighed "Well, at least you guys tried. If things go bad they only have themselves to blame. Besides...hey, are you okay?"

Lysander steadied Alaric as he swayed in his place, but the boy nearly fell in his arms as a result. "Whoa!" He settled the boy against a tree. "Ricky? Ricky..." He stopped when Alaric raised his head, looking dazed. "Take it easy."

Kelly frowned as he stood "You were still feeling sick, weren't you? You shouldn't have come with us."

Alaric looked down "But..." He wasn't even sure why but something told him he had to. He'd come near this place once accidentally before with Jaden and it left him with a strong bad feeling in his chest ever since. It scared him, he just wanted to make sure nothing would happen to their friends.

"Easy on him, Kelly. He's here for the same reason you are. Making sure our idiots for friends won't get themselves kicked out for something stupid." Alexis said.

"Yup, nothing wrong with that. Besides we're going back now anyway." Lysander added.

Kelly let out a sigh before a smile settled on her lips "All right then...I'm still giving Jaden a piece of my mind later."

"Go figure. We could just get Meg, she really knows how to make a point. You comin' Alexis?" asked Lysander.

"My dorm's in the other direction, remember? I'll see you guys later. Hope you feel better, Alaric." Alexis turned to leave.

* * *

><p>The inside of the abandoned dorm was just as bad as the outside, the tables were broken, chairs were turned up and it was pretty much filthy all around. Chumley and Syrus agreed that they already wanted to leave and they didn't understand how Jaden could be so enthusiastic about the whole thing.<p>

"Ya know, this place is totally sweet! Get it some new paint, a couple of boxes and a throw rug, we could totally move in here!" Jaden said.

Syrus gave him an incredulous look "You're kidding, right? This place is worse than the Slifer Dorm! What the heck is all this?"

Their eyes traveled to the wall, which had a number of different symbols on. Jaden identified them as the seven Millennium items but then noticed something odd. The wall also showed a white and green dragon soaring high. A symbol of two circles converging and a sun in the middle was right behind the dragon.

Then a picture just besides the wall caught his eye. "Who's this?"

* * *

><p>Alexis was making her way back to her dorm, thinking it was nice of Jaden to offer to find clues about her brother. But they couldn't seem to find any clue anywhere. She might have been a little grateful to the Slifer's kindness but she really thought going to the dorm was risky and hoped he wouldn't get caught.<p>

Something yellow caught her eye, making her think to the Ra trio who came tonight. They surprised her by showing up but they were being good friends, showing just how much this whole thing worried them. She was in half a mind to chew Jaden out a bit for ignoring his friends and going to the dorm anyway. That was uncalled for. She remembered what Kelly told her about Alaric then and knew that the boy might be the only one who understood how strongly she felt about her brother's dilemma. No one had seen his parents for months, after all.

The obelisk queen was so absorbed in her thoughts that she never noticed the figure sneaking up on her until it was too late...

* * *

><p>"Honestly, I don't care if they don't get caught, someone needs to do something here!" Kelly grumbled.<p>

Lysander sighed "I didn't think they'd ignore us then. Guess I should have known better, huh?"

"...Do you think they'll be okay?" Alaric asked quietly.

The two stopped and looked at him, noting how worried he was. "Yup, we're just saying they need to remember not to mess around like this." Kelly answered. "Chin up, okay? It'll be fine."

Alaric nodded, but he still looked troubled. Kelly decided to jump something else "I've been meaning to ask but what the heck did you mean back there when you said the dorm feels rotten?"

"Yeah, I thought that was funny too. Not that you were wrong but it wasn't out of fear, was it?" Lysander asked. It sure didn't feel like a statement from fear or nervousness. Alaric seemed genuinely bothered by something there.

"Y-yeah, it just...I've had this really weird feeling. Like something telling me to stay away from there. Like...like it just screams bad...I can't explain it well."

"Well, what I got from that means you have..."

A scream cut Lysander off. The alarmed friends exchanged looks. "That sounded like..."

"Alexis!" Kelly went to the direction of the scream.

"Hey, wait up!"

Before she quite knew it, a hand had caught her wrist out and another clamped on her mouth...

"Hey, guys!"

Chumley started at the voice as Alaric and Lysander ran up to them. "What're you doing?"

"What do you think? Didn't you hear that scream?" The latter said irritably.

"Yeah, look what we found." Jaden held up Blade Skater, one of Alexis' cards. Alaric walked past him and picked up a card from the ground.

"Cheese..."

"Kelly's card too?! What's going on here?"

A scream sounded again. Alaric frowned, knowing what they had to do. "It just came from upstairs. Kelly and Alexis are in trouble, we need to go help them."

"Yeah, 'course we're going to but Ricky, you're..."

He cut Lysander off, knowing what he was going to say. Cheese had come up from the lower level, waving at him frantically. "This isn't the time. We need to split up and look through the levels, make sure nothing happen to them. I'm going downstairs. What are you going to do?"

Chumley and Syrus exchanged baffled looks, having never heard the meek boy speak like this before. Lysander also looked surprised but mostly impressed. Jaden was thinking along similar lines but he took it in stride with a grin. "Wow, Ricky, guess it's true. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. I'll be heading up."

"We're coming with you." Syrus said and Chumley nodded.

"Then that leaves you and me. Good luck, guys," Lysander said.

"You too."

* * *

><p>Alexis woke up to find herself in a dark place, bound by ropes from her hands and feet. "Where am I?"<p>

"Finally awake, huh?" A man with a dark hat and matching clothes and a mask walked over. "I'll be needing you to sit still till your little friends show up."

"Jaden..." She gasped when an eye appeared before her.

Kelly found herself in a similar predicament.

"Well, well, look at the little heroine rushing to save her friend. You should have kept an eye out, little girl."

She growled "Who are you?"

A man wearing a pure white mask with spiky black hair and mostly dark brown clothes with black boots came up. "You can call me Hades. I'm waiting for that little star to show up, feel free to watch how he'll crash and burn against me."

Kelly understood the reference and immediately hoped the person they had in mind wouldn't come. "If you dare lay one finger on Ricky, I'll make sure you regret it!"

"Really brave, aren't you? Well, you won't be for long." He held out a golden scale.

* * *

><p>With Cheese admitting that he had no idea where to go, Alaric and Lysander had to split up when it turned out that there were two doors that led to different levels in the basement.<p>

Lysander wasn't happy about this at all. Concern for his friends fueled his actions as he went. He wanted to help the girls but he was still worried about Alaric, who would have been back in his room if it wasn't for this. He really needed it and he could only hope his friend could deal with whatever happened on his end.

With that thought in mind, he continued. A gust of wind brushed past him and headed left.

_"Hmm, that's strange..."_ Laquari said. _"Something distorted my senses before but I'm sure now...I know where our friends are."_

"Seriously? Then lead on!"

* * *

><p>Titan, the Shadow duelist laughed as Jaden stepped up to face him, demanding the release of Alexis. "You're not in any position to make demands, boy. Just like my other victims."<p>

Jaden picked up his duel disk tossed by Syrus "Then get your game on!"

"Shadow game that is, foolish boy!"

* * *

><p>"Huh, you're even more of a runt then I thought." Hades said when Alaric came out of the tunnel to meet him. "Xavier actually lost to you? He's more of a bumbling buffoon than I thought."<p>

Alaric frowned when he saw the bound and gagged Kelly behind the man, saying something he couldn't make out. Cheese flew up to her and the man followed his line of sight as he turned his duel disk on "Right, you're here for her. I needed some way to keep her quiet. Mouthy little friend you got here."

He didn't have any idea who Xavier was but it was clear what Hades wanted to do. "You seem like a bright kid. So I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you what I want you to do. Ready to go?"

Alaric put his duel disk on in response and activated it.

Hades smirked under his mask.

"...What did you do here?" Alaric couldn't help but ask as he took in the area and the surrounding darkness. Something told him it wasn't normal.

"Oh? Isn't it obvious?" Hades asked. "Wait, could it be that...I get it, you don't know, do you, runt? Funny, I could have sworn I felt that power on you when you walked in. Guess no one thought to break the news..."

"What're you talking about?"

"You're not getting anything out of me now. Let's see..." Hades flicked his wrist and a shadow crept out of the wall and sharpened into a spear. It shot off towards Alaric, and before he could react, a burst of wind shot out to force the spear back. "Well, well, you're more interesting than I thought, runt."

Alaric felt spots invading his vision and had to shake his head to clear it before steadying himself. What was that just now? He could feel the wind surrounding him too...

"Enough of that now, let's get down to business." Hades grinned wickedly.

* * *

><p>Jaden and Titan drew five cards. The second started things off "Prepare to enter the Shadows!"<p>

* * *

><p><em>Well, I'll leave it at that and try to wrap up both duels in the next chapter. It'll work out better. I couldn't decide on a deck for Hades for a while and life got in the way and what not but never mind that, please read and review.<em>

_I'm out!_


	7. Assassins and Shadow games- Part 2

"I summon Infernal queen archfiend!" (A: 900, 1300)

Jaden raised an eye at the new fiend before him "An archfiend monster? You keep those up by paying lifepoints, don't you?"

"No, I don't." Titan said with a chuckle. "With this anyway, Pandemonium!" The field around them changed into a scary room with skeletons and a pool of lava in the middle of the field.

"Whoa!" Syrus yelped.

"It changes more than the scenery, thanks to this I don't have pay any lifepoints for my fiends and when one is destroyed, I can add another one with a lower level to my hand." Titan explained, they instantly realized how big of an effect it would have on the duel. But he wasn't done, noticing Jaden's obvious concern, he made the coffin Alexis lay in disappear into the ground.

"Alexis!" Syrus and Chumley exclaimed.

"What have you done with her?" Jaden demanded.

"Oh you don't have any time to worry about the girl." Titan dismissed with a smirk.

He scowled "All right then, I summon up Elemental Hero Stratos!"

The blue wind elemental hero took up his place beside Jaden (A: 1800, D: 300) "And with him here, I can add any Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand." He took the card that came out of the duel disk. "Now he'll take your queen down!"

Titan: 3100

Jaden: 4000

Titan added an Archfiend monster due to Pandemonium's effect and waited for Jaden to finish his turn. "I hope you don't think you have the lead. Call of the Haunted, activate!" The trap card resurrected Infernalqueen Archfiend. "Then I play Soul of the Pure!" This boosted his points by 800. "I summon Terrorking Archfiend!" A new fiend, wearing a red crown to fit his name appeared beside the first monster. (A: 2000, D: 1500) "And Infernal queen Archfiend gives him a 1000 point boost!"

"Oh great..." (A: 2000-3000)

"Go, Locus Storm Barrage!"

Jaden grimaced at the attack heading for him. "Fat chance, I play my trap, Mirror Gate! Now our monsters trade places so those 3000 points will go to me!"

Titan chuckled "You think so, do you?"

"What?"

"Look around and tell me who has who trapped!" The man continued. "Your trap card's useless with my Terrorking's ability, activated thanks to you! Now our monsters' fate will be decided by chance for you see," he pointed at the six balls that appeared next to his monster. "Now a number will be chosen at random and if it's a 2 or a 5 your trap will be destroyed. So let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happens, shall we?"

Syrus eyed the fire that appeared around one of the balls before going to the next one "It's okay, Jaden! The odds are way in your favor!"

But then the flame stopped at 2, making Titan grin and Chumley gasp "No!"

"And chance favors Terrorking Archfiend," Mirror gate was destroyed. "Finish Stratos now!"

Titan: 3900

Jaden: 2800

"Okay, that didn't work out..." Jaden turned to his other trap. "But this will! Hero Signal! Since you destroyed Stratos, I get another Elemental Hero over, like Clayman!" The brown elemental hero took up a defensive stance. (A: 800, D: 2000)

"Way to duel!" Syrus praised.

Chumley nodded, just as relieved. "That should keep his points safe..."

"I don't think so..." The three looked at Titan, who took out a golden pendant from his pocket. "Not from this is where the Shadow games begin!"

His pendant lit up then, nothing seemed to happen. Until Syrus and Chumley cried out in shock, bringing Jaden's attention to the fog starting to surround him. It looked like a part of his arm and leg were gone. "Hey, my arm!"

Titan chuckled, enjoying this. "It is the way of the shadows, fool! Transcending the game and attacking your body."

"I can't move my feet!" Jaden frowned.

"The Shadow fog rolls past, ensaring you with its grip and taking you completely..." Titan trailed off. "It's your move, but make it count as it could be your last!"

Jaden smiled, actually enjoying this like he would any duel. The only thing weighing on him was Alexis but he would make sure to get her out of there as soon as possible. "I play Pot of Greed!" He drew 2 cards. "I fuse Sparkman and Clayman to summon up Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" A huge monster with white and purple armor surrounded by electricity emerged out of the fusion gate. (A: 2400, D: 1500)

"Now it's time for his special ability, destroying one monster on your field with less original ATK points than his! Static Blast!"

Titan smirked as the oncoming energy blast "I activate TerrorKing's ability again, Spin Roulette!"

Syrus moaned when he saw the six balls and the flame "It can't land on a 2 or 5 again..." Unfortunately it did, the five ball was a lit with the flame. Thunder Giant was destroyed then, making his owner groan.

Titan laughed "I win! Looks like Fate isn't on your side even half the time! Now pay the price!"

"Talk about some rotten luck!" Jaden said.

"Careful!" Chumley called.

Titan laughed "All your monsters are destroyed and you're next! Prepare to enter the Shadow Realm!"

* * *

><p>Kelly could only look on as Alaric and Hades drew their opening hands, ready to get started.<p>

"Let's begin, shall we?" Hades drew. "First off, Machina armored unit! Now when a machine type monster I control is destroyed, I can special summon one with less attack and the same attribute right then. On that note, here's Machina Sniper." A green and grey robot appeared on the field. (A: 1800, D: 800). "Next I set two cards facedown and end my turn. Do your worst, runt."

Alaric took a card and began his turn "I summon Nexus Paladin-Kanonno." A teenage girl with pink hair in a white, grey and red dress appeared. (A: 1800, D: 1800) "And when she's summoned I can get another Paladin from my hand to the field and I'll choose Judith!"

A woman with purple hair and a slight tan with brown eyes and an easy going smile appeared. (A: 1700, D: 1700). Both girls waved their hands and a Bastard sword and a spear appeared their respectively.

"Not bad, not bad." Hades said, eyeing them appreciatively. "So those are the cards I heard about. Well they'd make a very nice souvenir."

_"Sounds like you've got quite the jerk this time." _Kanonno huffed.

Alaric nodded "Don't worry, he's not getting his hands on you. We don't need a repeat of last time."

_"I second that." _said Judith.

"Got something to back that talk up, runt? They can't stand up to my monster, unless you want suicide one of them." Hades pointed out.

"I know, which is why I'm playing this. Phact Phantasia, giving Kanonno a 600 point boost." Alaric inserted the equip spell and the pinkette's sword changed. (A: 1800-2400)

"In that case, I'll activate Waboku. Making sure none of your attacks work."

Alaric said nothing but set two cards facedown.

Hades grinned and drew "I'm surprised you think you have a chance. You would have been better off staying away from here. I activate the spell Cost down, reducing the levels of my monsters by 2. So I can summon up this Blowback dragon as a level 4." A new red and grey robotic monster arose (A: 2300, D: 1300) "And don't go feeling relieved that he's weaker than your monster. Blowback dragon has a nice ability to make up for it. See all I have to do is take a little gamble with a coin, and if I get 2 heads out of three, I can destroy her."

Kelly's eyes widened at the news, once again wishing there was something she could do to help. She blinked at the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly and heard someone grumble "Oh man, we're too late!"

Cheese flew up to the newly arrived Lysander and Laquari, bringing their attention to his owner. The teen wasted no time in removing the tape away from Kelly's mouth.

The girl sighed "Thanks, I really didn't see this coming."

"That makes all of us, we would've gotten here sooner but we got lost." Lysander said, reaching for her binds and cringing when he felt a shock course through his hands.

"Ah-ah-ah, the only way she's getting free is if the runt beats me." Hades stated, looking back at them. He'd just finished tossing the coin and gotten two heads like he hoped. "Which clearly isn't going to happen, Blowback dragon, destroy Kanonno!"

The dragon fired a blast that caused a smokescreen. Hades was about to order it to attack when he noticed that something was wrong. The head of pink hair that appeared as the smoke cleared proved him right. "What the..."

"Kanonno's ability nullifies all card effects on her." Alaric said, answering the unasked question.

"You did look a little too calm...I should've known. Well then, I'll just have my dragon attack Judith then." Another blast from the machine type destroyed her, a fragment of it hit Alaric's shoulder.

Alaric: 3400

Hades: 4000

"This would be the beginning." Hades lifted a golden scale, which then began to glow and just like with Jaden, parts of Alaric's body started to disappear. He grinned upon hearing his opponent's friends cry out in shock and concern.

"What did you do?" Kelly demanded.

"It comes with the territory when playing a Shadow game," Hades answered, watching his opponent's reaction. Usually his opponents would start freaking out at this point.

Alaric cringed a little as he tried to move his shoulder but steadied himself and stared back, waiting for Hades to finish.

"Looks like you got guts, runt. I'll give you that. I'll just set a facedown..."

"Then I'll use my Dust Tornado to destroy it." Alaric cut him off, revealing one of his traps and setting another card with its effect.

Hades growled "Fine, then start your turn."

The nexus paladin duelist went on to do just that. "I'll call up Nexus Paladin-Jude." The black haired teen appeared next to Kanonno, just as ready for battle. "Now..."

"Before you even try to attack, I think its time to use Battle Fader's effect." Hades interjected. "By special summoning this card, I end the battle phase."

Alaric frowned and set a card "It's your move."

"And I'll draw!" Hades grinned. "First off, Spellbook inside the pot! So we get 3 cards." The two drew. "Which works perfectly for me, I'll summon Mechanicalchaser and play Ancient Rules, allowing me to call up a normal monster from my hand. So it'll have to be Zoa!"

A green and blue ball with thin arms and legs holding a scepter emerged (A: 1850) along with a large blue fiend (A: 2600).

_"This is bad..." _Laquari said with a scowl.

"For now, I'll use Blowback Dragon's effect." Hades said, but the coin toss got him two tails and one head, leaving him with one thing to do "Mechanicalchaser will attack Jude." Hades began, the monster charging on at its cue.

"Then I'll use Enemy Controller to force it into defense mode." Alaric countered, activating a card from his hand. Mechanicalchaser froze before curling up and retreating to Hades' field.

"Hmph, fire away, Blowback dragon."

Alaric: 2900

Hades: 4000

"I'll play Mirror move to copy that effect and destroy Zoa!"

Hades' eyes widened in surprise when he saw his opponent's second facedown activate. Seconds later, a blast similar to Blowback Dragon's came back to hit the blue fiend.

"Nice move!" Lysander said with a grin, Cheese let out a cheer on the side and the girls smiled.

"All right then, I'll activate Inferno Reckless summon to get my second Blowback dragon over!" Hades growled, paying lifepoints to activate the quick play spell.

Alaric: 2900

Hades: 2500

"I'll also use Makyura the Destructor's effect, discarding it to activate a trap from my hand." Hades continued. "Metalmorph on the first Blowback dragon!" The dragon on the right was outfitted with silver armor. "Now attack!"

Blowback dragon fired another blast from one of its cannons, forcing Alaric back from the move's power as Kannono was destroyed. "If a monster equipped with Phact Phantasia is destroyed, I can resummon it and pay lifepoints times its level to end the battlephase."

The pink haired girl arose again, this time in defense mode.

Alaric: 1100

Hades: 2500

"You're just full of tricks, aren't you? Try this then," Hades held up a spell that depicted a picture of a monster getting struck by a white energy beam with some black sparks and the same beam shooting bouncing of a shield to the sky. "Shadow Ray destroys a monster of my choice and deals damage to you equal to half its attack, but I get the same amount as a boost in lifepoints instead. Since Kanonno over there can't be touched by card effects, I'll just use it one of my dragons."

At his words, Blowback dragon fired the white and black beam before exploding, the blast hit Alaric and knocked him to the ground.

"I'll just have to cut that down to size with Shrink!"

"Ricky!" His friends called.

Hades grinned as the same beam hit him but unlike his opponent, this seemed to rejuvenate him.

Alaric: 575

Hades: 3075

_"He's almost back at full strength..."_ Laquari growled.

Kanonno paid that no mind and went to her friend _"You okay?"_

"Yeah..." Alaric tried to sit up, mentally shaking himself. Something felt wrong here but he couldn't place it.

* * *

><p>"You won't be for long. It's your turn."<p>

Jaden was having similar problems in his own duel, still facing Titan's two archfiends who were right at home with Pandemonium activated.

"Your destiny is set, boy! Soon my archfiend deck will finish your monsters off and my Millenium item will finish off your soul!" Titan held up said item with a wicked grin.

His opponent drew his next card, unfazed by the man's attempts to intimidate him. "This duel isn't over yet, big guy! I still got some cards to play. Like Mirage of Nightmare. With it, I throw two facedowns to end my turn."

"Don't waste my time! Your lifepoints won't last long enough to use those cards. Alexis' soul is as good as mine, same goes for yours!" Titan cackled, his duel disk popped out a card. "It's my turn..."

"Don't forget, I can draw 4 cards thanks to Mirage!" Jaden interjected, going on to do just that.

"Didn't I already say it? What difference does it make? Even four million cards won't help you against my monster. Let me show you why. Locus Storm Barrage!"

At the cue, TerrorKing Archfiend unleashed another swarm of locusts going right towards Jaden.

**"Talk about butterflies in your stomach." **Jaden thought as he activated his trap. "Time to use Mirror Force and destroy your attacking monsters!" They both watched the trap reflect the attack at the archfiends and destroy them.

"How dare you?!" Titan snarled.

"How? Because I'm daring, I guess." Jaden responded.

"Well I'll see how daring you are when I'm done with you! Desrook Archfiend's effect! By discarding him, Terrorking comes back!"

Jaden's eyes widened at the returning fiend "Again?"

"Now it's time for Pandemonium's powerful magic, allowing me to draw a new Archfiend since those two were destroyed!" Titan took a new card. "It can't be as powerful but it'll do. Especially since Terrorking can attack again. Locus Storm Barrage!"

"Go Emergency provisions!" Jaden activated one of his facedowns. "Sending Mirage of Nightmare to the graveyard to get a 1000 lifepoints!"

Titan: 3900

Jaden: 1000

Titan inwardly swore and cursed his opponent, believing for moments that he had won the game.

"Told ya I'm not losing this game." Jaden steadied himself, flinching at the Shadow game's toll when Titan activated his item again, making almost all his legs disappear and half of his arms too "I'm still good to go!"

"Better make this count, draw!" Jaden paused. "I play the spell, Reinforcements of the army, getting Avian into my hand. Now with Polymerization, I can fuse him with Burstinatrix to get Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" A red and green monster which had a wing like Avian's and with a dragonic like left arm appeared. (A: 2100, D: 1200) "Let's turn up the heat, Infernal Rage!"

The archfiend was incinerated by the fiery vortex it was trapped in. Jaden then spoke "With Wingman's ability, you take damage equal to your monster's attack points!"

Titan: 1800

Jaden: 1000

"So you lose parts of yourself too!" Jaden noted when parts of Titan's body faded.

"It doesn't matter! With the second Desrook Archfiend in my hand, TerrorKing comes back!" Titan said as the crown wearing Archfiend came again.

"Just great," Jaden said sarcastically. "I'll get rid of him but first I'll have Dark Catapulter up in defense mode!" A metal monster with two rods sticking out its head came up, kneeling in defense. (A: 1000, D: 1500) "Do your worst."

"Careful what you wish for..." Titan took a card. "...Because you might just get it! I sacrifice my Terrorking for Skull Archfiend of Lightning!" It turned out to be a monster almost an exact look like to Summoned Skull but darker. "Since you wanted my best, here! Every last super charged bolt!" The new monster blasted Flame Wingman to the graveyard.

Titan: 1800

Jaden: 600

Jaden was having a hard time standing now, only knowing that he had to. But Titan's voice cut through his thoughts before he could catch his breath, his Millenium item glowing once more. "Look at my item and feel yourself drifting in the shadows! That's it boy, your lifepoints are nearly gone and you'll soon turn into an empty shell! Feel yourself drifting..."

The brunet didn't even notice that he was on his knees, he was still trying to register what was going on because he felt very, very tired. Titan's voice was growing fainter and his surrounding were becoming blurry...

Titan smirked as he kept his eyes on Jaden. **"The shadows are powerful indeed. The shadows of the mind, that is! If only he knew..."**

Jaden couldn't see anything at this point and all he could do was apologize to Alexis in his mind.

* * *

><p>Alaric cringed as he steadied himself, eyes narrowing at his grinning opponent. Something was definitely wrong. Hades' item was glowing again and black spots were invading his vision. He could feel something inside him stirring in response...<p>

Lysander growled. Right, that was it. "Leave him alone, I'll duel you!"

"Too late for that." Hades said. "It was already decided the moment you and your buddy over there got lost in my maze."

Kelly grit her teeth in frustration as she watched Cheese fly to her friend. "You're nothing but a coward! Hiding behind some cheap tricks, I know Ricky can beat you!"

"Heh, really? The runt can't even stand at this point."

Alaric yelped as he felt a sharp pain erupt in his head. He swore he could feel the wind stirring around him again...like when it protected him from Hades' attack earlier. He could feel it...he was missing something here. His eyes widened when they fell on his opponent.

_"You feel it too, right?" _Kanonno asked, helping him up. _"I have to admit, he's really sneaky. Let's try blowing this plan sky high, shall we?"_

"Absolutely."

* * *

><p>Back with Jaden...<p>

The boy woke up at a familiar sound, only to be surprised when he found a ball of light in front of him. But it sounded just like "Winged Kuriboh?"

The ball floated around him in response before floating towards Titan. "Slow down...that's...wait..."

He just noticed something. The shadows surrounding his opponent and Kuriboh were fading out...they were still in the Pandemonium room...

**"That's it!" **Jaden steadied himself and spoke confidently.

"I figured it out! This Shadow game scam is over!"

* * *

><p>"Kanonno, you want to do the honors?" Alaric asked.<p>

The girl grinned _"Do I." _She shot off towards Hades and snatched the golden scales before he could react.

"Hey, give that back!"

_"Oh, no worries, you're getting it back, in pieces!" _She smashed the item against her sword, breaking it.

"Alaric got his body back!" Kelly cheered.

_"...I don't think he ever lost it." _Laquari said. _"Hades was just good at leading us around but this whole thing is a trick. This isn't a Shadow game."_

"Exactly." Alaric said, hearing this.

"Then how did he do those things? Make that weird maze..." Lysander recalled.

"Or use that attack before the duel?" Kelly added.

Alaric looked back at Hades "I'm not sure..."

"I don't see the big deal, runt. You can do similar things if you tried." Hades said, confusing the teens even more. "Besides, unlike Titan, I don't need a Shadow game to cause some damage. You should have realized that by now."

"I do. But I think you should have figured it out too, nothing you can do will make me give up."

"Yeah, with that hero thing you got going on." Hades returned. "You don't even know your own strength, do you? This is ridiculous. That power's a waste on a clueless runt like you."

Alaric really wished he knew what the man was talking about. He suddenly recalled the shield of wind protecting him from Hades' lance before the duel. Was that it? But he wasn't even sure what happened then...

"Ignore him and win this," Lysander said. "You can't take this guy's word. And on the off chance that it's true, this isn't the time or place to work it out."

The nexus paladin duelist nodded before he drew a card, figuring his friend was right. He couldn't get distracted now. "I play the spell Star Veil. Now I have to return Kanonno to my deck to get back lifepoints equal to half her attack points and we both draw a card."

Kanonno was surrounded by a silvery aura that surrounded Alaric, serving to boost his lifepoints before vanishing along with the girl. Both duelists took a card.

Alaric: 1775

Hades: 3075

"Now I summon Nexus Paladin-Rita." A teenage girl with brown hair and green eyes appeared. She wore a red and black outfit with goggles on her head. A scroll appeared in her right hand. (A: 1600, D: 1600)

_"I can already tell he's as bad as that bastard." _She said after studying Hades. _"Tell me you have something to wipe that annoying smirk off his face." _

"I'd say so." Alaric responded, holding up a spell card for her to see. Rita's eyes widened in surprise. It depicted a picture of herself surrounded by four glowing spheres. "Feel like making sure we finish this a bang?"

She grinned _"Oh yeah."_

"I activate the spell Ancient Catastrophe!" Alaric said, inserting the card. "I can only use it with Rita on the field but it removes up to 4 cards in your field from the game."

"What?!" Hades snarled.

The 4 spheres surrounded him then, exploding around his field and blowing his cards away.

"All right!" Kelly and Lysander cheered.

_"Now for the follow up." _At Alaric's nod, she cast a spell. _"Spiral flare!"_

Hades was hit with a fiery vortex that took a good chunk of his lifepoints.

Alaric: 1775

Hades: 1475

"Atta boy, you're doing great!" Lysander called.

"Yeah, just a little more!" Kelly added, Cheese cried out in agreement.

Hades growled, practically ripping the card he drew from his deck "You're going to regret that, runt. I'll discard Perfect Machine King from my hand to activate Machina Fortress' ability, allowing me to summon it to the field!" A red, blue and grey robot emerged on the field, the gun on its shoulder pointing at Rita. (A: 2500) "Now see if you can take this, attack!"

"I'll use Rita's ability, removing two spell cards from play allows her to go into defense mode and avoid destruction of any sort for this turn." Alaric responded, two cards coming out of his duel disk's graveyard slot. "I still take half the damage from your attack."

Rita conjured up a shield as she went into defense mode, cutting the power of Gatling Dragon's attack and watched Alaric shield himself from it.

Alaric: 1325

Hades: 1475

"Che, fine. You're just stalling the inevitable." Hades grunted.

"Hardly." Alaric drew, smiling at his find. "I'll remove Star Veil from the game to use its other effect. Allowing me to draw one more card." He pocketed the spell card and took a new card from his deck. "Now I use Double Summon. First I'll get Nexus Paladin-Asbel."

A teen with red hair and bright blue eyes wearing a white and black jacket with matching pants, a green shirt and white shoes appeared. A sword flashed into existence a second later on his hand. (A: 1850, D: 1850)

"And his effect lets me take any equip spell from my deck and add it to my hand." Asbel waved his hand in a semi-circle, sending a beam to Alaric's duel disk, making it glow white. Alaric paused to search for the equip spell.

"It won't help you. Just accept that you've lost. You should've handed that deck way earlier." Hades said.

"I told you before, didn't I? Nothing you can do will make me quit, especially with you threatening my friends." His opponent replied. "I'll give Rita the spell Dein Nomos."

A sword appeared next to the mage, who looked at it blankly. She had a suspicion of what Alaric had planned, something the boy wasted no time in confirming with the following statement.

"A Nexus Paladin holding Dein Nomos counts as two tributes for a summon." Alaric informed, fingering a card in his hand. "So this duel's over! I'll sacrifice Rita to get Nexus Paladin-Gaius."

Rita vanished within a flash of light and in her place appeared a man with black hair and tanned skin wearing dark clothes. He had sharp red eyes and a long sword in a sheath at his side, which he proceeded to draw.

"So planning to suicide him? Well, you're still not winning this." Hades said.

"I don't have to. Gaius gets 200 attack points for every Nexus Paladin in my graveyard."

His eyes widened beneath the mask as Gaius was surrounded by a red aura, boosting his power. (A: 2500-3100)

"Now for his second effect, by paying 400 lifepoints. I can destroy your set card." Alaric added.

Hades stepped back in shock as Gaius thrust his sword forward, sending out a shockwave that blew his card into pixels, revealing it to be Call of the Haunted. **"No!"**

"All right, let's end this!"

Gaius attacked first, destroying Machina Fortress with some quick slashes and Asbel picked up where he left off, striking Hades' and taking out the rest of his lifepoints.

Alaric: 925

Hades: 0

Winner: Alaric

Alaric let out a sigh, relieved that it was over. He looked back at his friends and smiled when he saw Lysander free Kelly successfully.

_"Nicely done." _He blinked and turned to Asbel and Gaius. The first smiled and continued _"You did it."_

He shook his head "We did it. Thank you for helping me save my friend and..."

Overcome with exhaustion, Alaric began to fall forward and Asbel caught him before he hit the ground.

"Alaric!"

The NP duelist's friends ran over, all looking on in concern. "Is he okay?" Kelly asked.

_"He must be exhausted." _Laquari said, getting a nod of agreement from Asbel.

"I wouldn't be surprised. He's had a hard time." Lysander picked him up. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

><p>"Guys!"<p>

Syrus and Chumley turned at the voice and saw Kelly and Lysander running over to them. They couldn't see Cheese, Laquari, Asbel or Gaius following the two Ras in spirit form. The first smiled "You're okay!"

Kelly smiled a bit "Thanks to those two."

Chumley tilted his head a little, seeing Alaric out cold and being carried by Lysander. "What happened to him?"

"He wore himself out. That guy was a real pain." Lysander said. "Thing is, he just up and vanished..." He stopped at the sight of the dark sphere at some distance from them. "What is that?"

"We don't know but Jaden and that Titan guy are in there..." The slifers told them how Jaden figured out Titan's shadow game was a trick and destroyed his millenium item. He'd managed to destroy Titan's field spell with his Dark Catapulter, after which this thing swallowed them both.

"So this one was a phony too." Kelly looked at the sphere and frowned. "Well, there's got to be something we can do instead of standing around here."

"Hold it." Lysander said firmly. "Rushing ahead without any thinking is what got you captured, remember? We don't even know what that thing is so let's try and think things through."

_"You wouldn't be able to enter anyway." _Laquari said, confusing them. _"You see..."_

* * *

><p>"What is this place?!" Titan looked at his surroundings fearfully but all he and Jaden could see was the darkness. "Where in the world am I?!"<p>

"Enough messing around already! Where's Alexis?" Jaden demanded.

"You think I did this?! I'm not that good..."

A mass of black blobs headed towards them. Jaden just stared, dumbfounded **"What in the world?!"**

Titan was soon overcome with the blobs covering nearly every part of him. "Jaden, help me! Get these things off..." He didn't get to finish because one got to his mouth, silencing him.

It was then that Jaden noticed similar blobs heading around him. He couldn't move as they had him surrounded from all sides.

A familiar hoot rang through the air and then came none other than the brunet's friend, Winged Kuriboh.

"Kuriboh? You're..."

The fairy gave a hoot and lowered itself to the ground, glaring at the blobs, which then backed away.

"Jaden Yuki..." Titan stood. His voice was more sinister and his eyes glowing red behind his mask. "The shadows pang for a soul...and only one will survive..." He raised his duel disk and the blobs formed a circle around them, as if intending to make sure this duel finished. "You will lose your soul here!" Their monsters came back then, Skull Archfiend for him and Jaden's Dark Catapulter.

Titan: 1800

Jaden: 600

Jaden shook his head, not wanting to believe the Shadow game stuff again. "Well, it's about time we finish the duel. I'll use the spell Monster Reincarnation." He discarded a card to get Sparkman back and proceeded to special summon the blue and gold light Elemental Hero.

"My turn." Titan's duel disk put a new card out which he drew.

"Don't forget, Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary. With no Pandemonium, you have to pay lifepoints to keep your monsters out!" Jaden put in.

Titan: 1300

Jaden: 600

He shook it off "It doesn't matter. After all what's a few measly lifepoints compared to a soul? Skull Archfiend of Lightning, attack!" The Archfiend let out a torrent of electricity that destroyed Dark Catapulter. Jaden was confused, he hadn't lost any points but he could feel bits of his monster falling on him.

"You really don't hold back on the tricks..."

If Titan heard that, he chose to ignore it "I'll set one card and summon Desrook Archfiend to end my turn." The new Archfiend looked a bit like a tower with a face that had a wicked grin aimed at Jaden. (A:1100, D: 1900)

Jaden drew a card, noticing Winged Kuriboh looking at him "No worries, Kuriboh! I'm still in this!" He looked at his new card.

"I'm putting Sparkman in attack mode and giving him the equip spell card Spark blaster." A blue firearm appeared in the elemental hero's hand. "This lets me change the position of any monster on the field up to 3 times."

"Hm, so change my Skull Archfiend's position. 1200 defense points should be easy for you to handle." Titan began, a familiar ring of six balls appeared. "If the roulette doesn't stop you, that is."

"Oh he won't be using it just yet. Sparkman attack Desrook Archfiend!"

The weaker fiend was obliterated with Sparkman's Static Shockwave attack.

Titan: 800

Jaden: 600

Once again, smoke left Titan's mouth as he stood, his body gone slack.

"And about Spark blaster..." Jaden said. "Sparkman's going to use it on himself!"

"Coward!" The archfiend duelist cried. "Using your hero to damage my lifepoints and making sure he defends your own! Not that it matters, it won't save you from my trap Battle scarred. Now this makes sure you have to pay lifepoints for my Skull Archfiend's effect too!" Both duelists stiffened at the loss of lifepoints.

Titan: 300

Jaden: 100

Winged Kuriboh flew down to keep the blobs, which had moved closer to his duelist away. Jaden steadied himself "I won't last at this rate...but I still have Sparkman..."

"Not for long, Skull Archfiend, destroy the peon with your Blast Stream of Fury!" Titan's monster took out Sparkman with another electrical blast. "Next I'll use Double Spell! By discarding a spell from my hand, I can use the effect of a spell card in your graveyard and it'll have to be Emergency Provisions!" The spell appeared in his hand. "I'll throw one card away." His facedown vanished. "...to gain 1000 lifepoints!"

Titan: 1300

Jaden: 100

"You've already lost, boy! You have no cards in your hand and no monsters on your field. All I have to do is wait till Battle Scarred takes out the rest of your lifepoints!"

But Jaden wasn't willing to just lay down and give up. **"I better make this count...It'll be my last turn!" **

"I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" A man in blue armor with a cape appeared. (A: 800, D: 1200) "Now since he'd just burst left alone so his effect lets me summon another monster and draw 2 cards if he's the last card on my field." Jaden took two more cards. "And whaddya know? I just drew his favourite, Bubble Shuffle!"

"Here's how it goes. I put both our monsters in defense mode and sacrifice Bubbleman to get a new monster out!"

"Only if you get Skull Archfiend's effect!" Titan retorted as the roulette made another appearance. "If this lands on a 1, 3, or 6, your efforts will go to waste!"

"Aw, man...I have the worst luck with thing..." Jaden kept his eyes on the roulette, watching the flame go till it stopped...on the number 2 ball!

"Two?!" Titan exclaimed.

"Two!" Jaden grinned. "I finally won!" Bubbleman and Skull Archfiend went to defense mode. "Now it's time for a big Shadow Realm welcome for Elemental Hero Bladeedge!"

The new hero had golden armor with matching blades on his arms and legs. "Looks pretty sharp, doesn't he? Well, you're right! He's so sharp, when he attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between his attack and the monster's defense points comes out of your lifepoints! Bladedge, show him how you got your name with Slice and Dice attack!"

Bladeedge passed through the archfiend with great speed, taking it out in one move. The monster exploded afterwards.

Titan: 0

Jaden: 100

Winner: Jaden

* * *

><p>"Look!" Everyone stared as Jaden jumped out of the dark sphere which imploded on itself. That caused a powerful wind that made everyone hold on tight, Jaden to Alexis' coffin before it was blown away and Lysander to Kelly and Alaric.<p>

"Awesome!" Jaden said when the wind let out. "I wonder what he does for an encore. Talk about a magic trick. There were all these monsters..."

"Magic trick?" Syrus repeated. "You don't think that was the real Shadow Realm?"

"Nah, it's all mirrors and fog machines. I'd give my entire deck to find out how he did it..." Jaden trailed off, noticing the three Ras present then. "Hey, you guys freed Kelly..."

"Thank this guy," Lysander cocked his head at Alaric, who was still out cold. "Anyway, it's about time we get Alexis out of here."

Crowler came into the cave later. He had a wide grin on his face as he imagined his plan's success, recalling how he called Titan and Hades here to scare Jaden and make him leave the academy. _(AN: No chance that'll work, right?) _

He couldn't find the men anywhere though. "Now that's strange...where could they be?"

"Right here." The man jumped and turned to see Hades standing behind him, the man giving him a peeved look.

* * *

><p>Alexis woke up in the forest to find Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Lysander (who was carrying Alaric) and Kelly.<p>

"Morning Sleepy head." The first grinned.

"What are you doing here?"

"What kind of thanks is that?" Jaden asked in return. "We're here because we had to fight the bad guys, win the duels and save the damsels in distress."

It was then that she remembered what happened. "Right...how did you know where I was?"

"We found your card." Syrus gave her the Etoile Cyber card she had dropped when Titan took her.

"That's not all." Jaden showed her the picture he found earlier.

"It's...my brother!" She said. "This is the first trace I've seen of him in a long time."

"Your brother?" Lysander raised an eye.

"So he got caught in this shadow game fiasco..." Kelly trailed off.

"Well we brought it to let you know we wanna help you find your brother, Alexis." Jaden added, getting nods from the rest of the group. "Can't have you locked up in more tombs now can we?"

"You really were worried about me, weren't you?"

"Sure we were..."

"As much as I hate to interrupt this conversation, you guys do realize that it's morning and we need to leave." Kelly stated. "Like right now?"

"Got that right!" Jaden agreed. "We were never here, Alexis!"

She watched them all leave, thinking **"You really were...and there's a chance I could find my brother..." **


End file.
